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George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

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ESTABLISHED  BV  THE 
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COLONEL  FLOWERS 


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George  Washington  Flo 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBR/ 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


,J'»"*--:J.-rr.^v9.! 


THE 


AMERICAN     UNION; 


ITS  EFFECT 


ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER  AND  POLICY, 


WITH    AN    INQUIRY    INTO 


SECESSION  AS  A  CONSTITUTIONAL   BIGHT, 

AND 

THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION. 

BT 

JAMES  SPENCE. 

FIRST  AMERICAN  EDITION, 
FROM.  THE  FOURTH  AND  REVISED  (ENGLISH)  EDITION. 


RICHMOND: 

WEST    AND    JOHNSTON 

1863. 


Evans  &  Cogswell,  Printers, 
No.  3  Broad  street,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


PUBLISHERS'    PREFACE. 


The  great  merit  of  Mr.  Spence's  book  has  induced  us  to  offer 
a  reprint  to  Southern  readers.  Tlie  work  was  published  in 
London  during  November,  18(j1,  and  in  a  few  months  has  gone 
through  four  editions.  It  is  rumored  that  the  author  has  been 
called  on  in  the  highest  quarters  for  further  information  in  refer- 
ence to  the  subject.  y 

Mr.  Speuce  thoroughlv'^aintains  the  cause  of  the  Southern 
states  in  their  controversy  jvith  the  North.  His  opinion  is  de- 
cided, his  reasoning  vigorous,  his  style  easy,  perspicuous,  and 
forcible.  He  asserts  broadly  the  right  of  secession  as  directly 
derived  from  the  nature  of  the  government,  and  shows  con- 
clusively the  adequacy  of  the  causes  that  have  indticed  the 
South  to  exercise  the  right.  He  is  particular!)'  happ)'  in  ex- 
posing, by  a  skilful  analysis  of  tlie  last  Federal  tariff,  the  iniq- 
uitous nature  of  the  tariff  system  which  Northern  rapacity  had 
imposed  on  Southern  industry. 

Without  attempting  to  analyze  Mr.  Spence's  book,  we  offer 
to  the  reader  a  few  remarks  on  a  passage  or  two  of  the  work. 
One  of  these  remarks  refers  to  some  additional  facts  respecting 
the  right  of  secession ;  the  rest  we  present  rather  as  a  protest 
than  criticism  on  certain  opinions  expressed  by  Mr.  Spence  on 
slavery-  and  on  tlie  mode  of  recognition  which  European  nations 
may  adopt  for  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

On  the  subject  of  secession  Mr.  Spence  adverts  to  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Virginia  convention  as  clearly  asserting  the  right 


344725 


VI  PREFACE. 

of  a  state  to  secede — to  withdraw  from  the  Federal  government 
its  delegated  powers.  The  language  of  New  York  and  Rhode 
Island  is  still  more  explicit  than  that  of  Vii'ginia.  The  Conven- 
tion of  New  York  declares  that  "  the  powers  of  government 
may  be  reassumed  by  the  people  whenever  it  shall  become  necessary 
to  their  happiness;  that  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right 
which  is  not  by  the  Constitution  clearly  delegated  to  Congress  or 
the  departments  of  the  government  remain  in  the  people  of  the 
several  states,  etc.  Under  these  iq^pressions,  and  declaring  that 
these  rights  cannot  be  abridged  or  violated,  and  that  the  expla- 
nations aforesaid  are  consistent  with  the  said  Constitution,  we, 
the  delegates  in  convention  *  *  *  *  assent  to  and  ratify 
the  Constitution."  It  is  by  virtue  of  this  ratification  with  these 
explanations  and  declarations  of  right  that  New  York  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Federal  Union.  The  ratification  broadly  asserts  that 
the  right  of  the  several  states  to  "  reassume "  the  powers  dele- 
gated to  the  Federal  government  is  "  consistent  with  the  Con- 
'stitution."  With  this  explanation  the  Constitution  was  adopted; 
without  it  the  Constitution  would  have  been  rejected.  The 
explanation  and  ratification  constitute  parts  of  one  instrument. 
If  one  is  denied,  the  other  is  at  an  end.  They  stand  or  fall 
together.  The  ratification  with  the  condition  was  accepted  by 
the  Federal  government.  The  right  of  New  York,  therefore,  to 
resume  its  delegated  powers  is  undeniable,  and  the  right  of  one 
state  is  the  right  of  all.  Can  evidence  be  more  complete  or 
argument  more  conclusive? 

If  additional  evidence  were  wanted,  it  would  be  found  in  the 
correspondence  of  Hamilton  and  Madison.  The  letters  have 
been  lately  published  at  the  North  as  conclusive  against  seces- 
sion. The  true  inference  from  them  is  directly  the  reverse. 
Hamilton  wrote  to  inquire  if  a  conditional  ratification  by  New 
York  would  be  sufficient.    Madison  replied  that  it  would  not. 


PREFACE.  Vll 

The  correspondence  proves  that  Madison  was  opposed  to  a  con- 
ditional ratification,  and  that  Hamilton  thought  it  a  moot  point. 
But  the  letters  prove  what  is  vastly  more  important.  They 
show  what  were  the  temper  and  purpose  of  the  convention. 
Hamilton's  letter  is  a  key  to  the  New  York  ratification,  if  a  key 
be  necessary.  It  is  of  little  importance  what  two  men,  however 
distinguished,  may  have  thought  or  said :  what  the  convention,  a 
great  public  body,  thought,  and  felt,  and  did,  is  what  we  desire 
to  know.  Hamilton's  letter  discloses  all  this.  It  shows  that  the 
convention  desired  to  attach  a  condition  to  its  acceptance  of  the 
■  Constitution,  and  what  the  letter  shows  the  convention  wished 
to  do  the  ratification  proves  was  accordingly  done.  The  condi- 
tion which  reconciled  the  convention  to  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  was  the  assertion  that  the  people  had  the  right  to 
resume  all  delegated  powers  whenever  their  happiness  required 
it,  and  this  condition  was  inserted  in  the  ratification. 

The  ratification  of  Rhode  Island,  adopted  many  months  subse- 
quently, is  word  for  word  the  same  as  that  of  New  York,  and 
was  evidently  copied  from  it. 

Mr.  Spence  Is  very  fair  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  Looking 
(  at  it,  however,  through  the  spectacles  of  English  sentiment  he 
could  not  be  expected  to  hold  opinions  agreeing  in  all  points 
with  our  own.  He  rejects  the  scandalous  falsehoods  of  the 
Abolitionists,  and  declares  that  "the  great  mass  of  negroes  are 
in  the  possession  of  more  robust  health,  more  plentiful  food,  and 
more  exemption  from  care  than  many  classes  of  the  laborers  of 
Europe."  "  The  sufferings  of  a  fireless  winter  are  unknown  to 
them."  *'  In  old  age  there  is  no  fear  of  a  workhouse."  Their 
children  are  never  a  burden  or  care  to  them,  and  their  labor, 
although  long,  is  neither  difficult  nor  unhealthy."  How  is  it  in 
Europe?  "  Take  the  life  of  a  collier  there  as  an  example  ;  can 
anything  be  more  dismal?     There  are  other  pursuits  in  which 


3447J^5 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

men  grow  haggard  and  worn  at  middle  age;  some  in  which 
there  goes  on  a  stealthy  poisoning  of  the  system,  yet  in  which 
recruits  are  never  wanting."  "  A  single  fact  shows  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  negro  in  the  Southern  states  is  not  one  of  suffer- 
ing." The  fact  alluded  to  is  the  rapid  increase  of  the  negro 
race  In  the  United  States.  It  is  impossible,  indeed,  for  the  most 
prejudiced  observer  to  deny  the  physical  advantages  of  the 
negro  slave ;  they  are  too  obvious  to  be  overlooked.  His  intel- 
lectual improvement  is  not  less  certain,  though  less  frequently 
admitted.  It  is  acknowledged  by  Mr.  Spence.  He  says  intel- 
lectually "  there  has  been  a  positive  gain."  It  is  in  slavery  only 
that  the  negro  has  acquired  any  knowledge  of  the  mechanic 
arts — that  he  has  become  a  useful  and  efficient  agricultural  la- 
borer. His  improvement  In  morals  and  religious  knowledge  is 
not  less  remarkable.  Every  clergyman  will  bear  testimony  to 
the  sincere  and  simple  faith  of  the  Christian  slave.  More  than 
one  Onesimus  may  be  found  on  every  Southern  plantation  re- 
sembling St.  Paul's  runaway  convert  in  all  but  unfaithfulness  to 
his  master.  In  all  respects — physically,  intellectually,  morally, 
religiously— the  four  million  slaves  in  North  America  are  immeas- 
urably superior  to  the  negro  race  In  their  native  country.  When 
four  years  ago  a  prize  slave-ship  entered  Charleston  hai'bor,  the 
civilized  negro  of  the  neighborhood  could,  not  bear  to  be  told 
that  he  had  descended  from  such  half-human  barbarians  as  he 
saw  In  the  vessel.  Yet  with  all  this  Mr.  Spence  tells  his  readers 
that  slavery  is  a  "  wrong,  an  outrage  on  humanity."  "After  all 
the  argument,  he  says,  that  can  be  poured  into  the  ear,  slavery 
remains  a  foul  blot  on  the  annals  of  the  age."  Is  it  a  wrong,  an 
outrage,  a  blot  on  the  age,  to  have  civilized  four  million  Africans 
through  the  only  means  by  which  the  end  could  be  accom- 
plished ?  It  is  slavery  only  In  a  Christian  country  that  has  civil- 
ized the  negro,  and  it  is  slavery  alone  that  protects  him  now  in 


PREFACE.  IX 

his  civilized  condition.  Remove  the  guardianship  of  the  slave- 
holder and  the  negro's  destruction  will  inevitably  follow.  Mr. 
Spence  says  it  is  a  wrong,  and  the  wrong  reacts  on  the  master. 
But  in  this  case,  if  there  be  a  wrong,  it  is  not  that  of  the  master; 
it  was  perpetrated  by  those  who  dragged  the  negro  from  his 
native  country.  The  slave-holder  has  been  the  friend,  the  only 
practical  friend  of  the  negro  race.  While  others  rant  and  de- 
claim in  sentimental  phrases  that  mean  nothing,  or  contrive 
schemes  that  do  mischief  merely,  tlie  slave-holder  alone  has  civil- 
ized the  negro.  It  is  the  master's  care  solely  that  has  divested 
the  barbarian  of  his  ferocity,  the  heathen  of  his  vile  super- 
stitions, the  savage  of  his  imbecility,  and  imparted  to  the  negro 
his  truest  claim  to  be  "a  man  and  a  brother."  But  if  sla- 
very were  an  evil  to  the  slave-holder  "  morally  and  economi- 
cally," it  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  at  issue. 
No  denouncer  of  slavery  views  it  in  any  other  light  than  as  it 
affects  the  slave  and  his  happiness,  and  to  the  slave  slavery  has 
been  not  a  wrong,  but  a  blessing.  Mr.  Spence  calls  slavery  "a 
gross  anachronism,  a  theory  of  two  thousand  years  ago."  This 
is  only  saying  that  the  form  of  labor  called  slavery  has  been 
found  in  all  ages  and  among  all  nations.  It  is  compulsory  labor, 
nothing  more,  and  will  exist  in  one  or  another  form  as  long  as 
men  shall  toil  for  bread;  as  long  as  they  waste  their  lives  in 
coal  mines  and  in  manufactories  of  lead  and  steel. 

But  we  are  not  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Spence.  We  are  con- 
tent to  take  what  he  is  willing  to  give.  "No  reasoning,"  he 
says,  "  no  statistics,  no  philosophy,  can  reconcile  us  to  what  our 
instinct  repels."  According  to  his  reasoning,  if  logically  carried 
out,  slavery  in  the  states  is  a  good  to  the  negro;  according  to  his 
instinct  it.is  a  wrong  and  an  outrage.  We  will  take  the  distrib- 
utive share  assigned  to  us  of  his  judgments,  and  appeal  from  his 
instinct  to  his  reason.     As  an  old  astronomer  discovered  that  the 


X  PREFACE. 

world  moved,  notwithstanding  the  suggestions  of  his  instincts  to 
the  contrar)',  Mr.  Spence  may  find,  als3,  in  spite  of  his,  that 
slavery  in  North  America  is  a  blessing  to  the  negro,  and  the 
Southern  states  a  paradise ;  that  in  a  general  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  only  view  that  can  properly  be  taken  of  it,  there  is  no 
wrong,  and  no  wrong-doer,  so  far  as  the  negro  and  his  master 
are  concerned.  As  to  the  master,  if  care  for  his  well-being  is  to 
be  an  element  in  the  calculation,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  his 
position  is  one  in  which  Providence  has  placed  him,  and  from 
which  he  has  no  means  of  retiring.  For  his  temper  and  char- 
acter, while  he  retains  his  place,  he  may  appeal  from  the  libels 
of  Abolitionists  to  the  judgment  of  the  great  philosophical  states- 
man of  Great  Britain.  In  his  speech  on  the  resolutions  for 
conciliation  with  the  colonies,  Mr.  Burke  bears  testimony  to  the 
lofty  character  of  the  slave-holder ;  he  says :  "  In  Virginia  and 
Carolina  they  have  a  vast  number  of  slaves.  Where  this  is  the 
case  in  any  part  of  the  world  those  who  are  free  are  by  far  the 
most  proud  and  jealous  of  their  freedom.  Freedom  is  to  them 
not  only  an  enjoyment,  but  a  kind  of  rank  and  privilege.  Not 
seeing  there  that  freedom,  as  in  countries  where  it  is  a  common 
blessing,  maybe  united  with  much  abject  toil,  with  great  misery, 
with  all  the  exterior  of  servitude,  liberty  looks  among  them  like 
something  that  is  more  noble  and  liberal.  I  do  not  mean  to 
commend  the  superior  morality  of  the  sentiment  which  has  at 
least  as  much  pride  as  virtue  in  it,  but  I  cannot  alter  the  nature 
of  man.  The  fact  is  so,  and  these  people  of  the  Southern  colo- 
nies are  much  more  strongly  and  with  a  higher  and  more  stub- 
born spirit  attached  to  liberty  than  those  of  the  Northward. 
Such  were  all  the  ancient  commonwealths ;  such  were  our 
Gothic  ancestors ;  such  in  our  days  were  the  Poles ;  and  such 
will  be  all  masters  of  slaves  who  are  not  slaves  themselves.  In 
such  a  people  the  haughtiness  of  domination  combines  with  the 


PREFACE.  XI 

spirit  of  freedom,  fortifies  it,  and  renders  it  invincible."  The  sub- 
ject under  discussion  in  Parliament  led  the  great  English  states- 
man to  speak  of  the  high  courage  only  of  the  slave-holder ;  but 
high  courage  is  not  the  associate  of  ignoble  qualities,  and  the 
most  elevated  examples  of  public  and  private  virtue  are  found 
among  the  slave-holders  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  The  men 
of  Plutarch  were  masters  of  slaves.  Not  less  illustrious  are  those 
of  the  Southern  states  which  history  has  already  recorded ;  and 
yre  believe,  without  a  doubt,  that  the  deeds  of  the  past,  brilliant 
as  they  are,  will  be  equalled,  if  not  surpassed  in  daring  courage, 
in  boundless  devotion,  in  ready  self-sacrifice  by  the  heroic  men 
who  are  now  pouring  out  tlieir  blood  like  water  to  vindicate  the 
liberties  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  No  nobler  examples  of 
public  or  private  virtue  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  any 
people. 

The  least  judicious  portion  of  Mr.  Spence's  book  is  that  in 
which  he  remarks  that  Europe  may  impose  on  the  Southern 
Confederacy  certain  conditions  respecting  slavery.  "  It  will 
clearly  be  allowable  to  our  government,"  he  says,  "  to  decline  to 
acknowledge  their  independence  without  express  conditions  in 
relation  to  slavery."  On  what  pretence  could  such  a  position  be 
assumed  by  England  ?  Any  conditions  in  reference  to  the  in- 
ternal concerns  of  the  Confederacy  would  be  at  variance  with 
international  law,  with  the  comity  due  from  one  independent 
government  to  another,  and  with  the  self-respect  essential  to  the 
well-being  of  every  state.  We  might  as  reasonably  attempt  to 
dictate  to  England  the  mode  in  which  she  should  govern  the 
ryots  of  Bengal  or  the  black  natives  of  Australia.  Mr.  Spence 
admits  the  evil  effects  arising  from  Northern  interference  with 
Southern  society ;  would  the  interference  of  England  be  less 
mischievous?  The  purpose  would  be  to  promote  the  ameliora- 
tion of  slavery,  the  eflect  would  be  to  retard  it.     Nothing  can 


Xll  PREFACE. 

ameliorate  slavery  but  the  increasing  civilization  of  the  slave. 
"When  he  was  a  barbarian,  lately  from  Africa,  he  required  re- 
straints which,  in  his  present  condition,  are  no  longer  necessary, 
and  no  longer  known.  Like  his  past,  his  future  progress  must 
be  the  work  of  time.  Slavery  to  the  African  is  education.  All 
foreign  interference  would  mar  its  teachings.  The  advance  of 
the  age,  of  general  civilization,  is  the  only  true  source  of  im- 
provement, here  as  elsewhere.  We  freely  admit  the  obligations 
and  duties  of  the  master,  but  in  discharging  them  he  must  be  left 
to  his  own  judgment  alone. 

In  connection  with  this  branch  of  the  subject  Mr.  Spence 
makes  an  allusion  to  slavery  in  Cuba,  and  intimates  that  the 
condition  of  the  slave  is  better  there  than  here.  Surely,  this 
is  a  mistake.  A  single  fact  will  prove  it.  It  is  a  fact  ad- 
duced by  Mr.  Spence  himself,  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
good  treatment  of  slaves  in  the  Southern  states.  The  slaves 
here  have  increased  from  seven  hundred  thousand  in  seventy 
years,  to  four  millions,  almost  without  immigration  from  Africa. 
In  Cuba  an  annual  importation  of  Africans  is  required  to  repair 
the  waste  of  life  from  hard  work  and  to  keep  up  the  number  of 
laborers.  Which  condition  will  Mr.  Spence  prefer  for  the 
slave  ?  Even  the  practice  which  he  adduces  as  so  imjiortant  in 
the  slave  system  of  Cuba  is  quite  as  prevalent  in  the  Southern 
states.  It  is  provided  by  law  in  Cuba  that  a  slave  may  buy 
himself  free;  the  same  thing  is  constantly  occurring  in  the 
Southern  states,  not  by  formal  legal  provisions,  but  by  common 
practice,  which  is  the  master  of  law.  We  know  negroes  who 
have  virtually  become  their  own  masters  by  the  customs  of  the 
country,  who  are  owners  of  drays,  horses,  fishing  boats,  slaves, 
houses,  and  lands,  and  who  live  in  their  own  homes  as  freemen. 

There  are  a  few  more  opinions  of  Mr.  Spence's  work  on 
which  we  might  offer  a  remark,  such  as  the  imaginary  degraded 


PREFACi:.  XUl 

condition  of  white  labor  in  the  Southern  states,  and  the  sup- 
posed scanty  progress  of  Southern  industry  ;  but  we  are  content 
to  leave  these  questions  for  time  to  solve.  When  the  South  shall 
be  fully  released  from  the  trammels  of  her  connection  with  the 
Northern  states  she  will  be  able  to  dcvelope  her  true  character, 
her  capabilities,  and  resources.  There  was  no  lack  of  industry 
or  energy  in  the  ancient  slave-holding  republics,  and  we  can  see 
no  reason  w  by  there  should  be  any  in  this.  Alreadj',  under  all 
the  disadvantages  that  have  embarrassed  her  exertions,  the  prog- 
ress of  the  South  has  been  immense.  In  bestowing  on  the 
world's  commerce  in  a  half-century  a  single  product  whose 
annual  value  is  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  she  has  given 
sufficient  evidence  of  what  her  vigor  can  perform.  What  will 
it  not  do  when  freed  effectually  from  the  influences  of  greedy 
and  unscrupulous  monopolists  ? 


THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Chapter    1 . 
THE  POLITICAL  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  UNION. 

Lest  the  neutral  title  of  tliese  pages  shouUI  beguile  any  reader 
to  assume  that  neutrality  of  opinion  will  pervade  them,  we  warn 
him,  upon  the  threshold,  that  he  will  soon  encounter  a  current 
of  reasoning  adverse  to  the  present  dootrines  and  action  of  the 
Northern  party.  We  have  endeavored  to  collect  and  weigh  dis- 
passionately the  evidence  and  argument  of  both  sections  of  the 
Union.  It  is  not  intended  to  ofi'er  the  whole  of  this  evidence, 
and  to  place  before  the  reader  a  collection  of  conflicting  mate- 
rials, to  be  labored  by  him  into  a  judgment.  Our  object  is 
rather  to  express  the  convictions  at  which  we  have  arrived, 
accompanied  by  the  facts  and  authorities  which  appear  to  sub- 
stantiate them.  And  so  far  from  preferring  a  claim  to  perfect 
neutrality,  we  hold  that  to  be  a  condition  of  mind  wholly  un- 
attainable during  the  excitement  of  such  a  contest.  Whoever 
requires  it  must  be  contented  to  wait  for  thirty  years.  To  write 
with  the  pen  of  rigidly  imp.artial  liistorj-,  we  need  for  a  theme 
the  events  of  a  generation  not  our  own. 

No  subject  attracts  so  large  a  share  of  public  attention  at  the 
present  day  as  the  American  Union.  In  France  and  Germany, 
as  well  as  in  this  country,  its  disruption  affects  interests  of  such 
magnitude  that  in  each  of  them  it  seems  rather  the  shock  of 
a  great  national  calamity  than  the  subdued  reaction  of  some 
remote  event.  In  this  country  the  interest  is  twofold,  for  beyond 
its  eflect  on  commerce,  the  final  result  will  shape  through  all 
future  time  the  fortunes  of  a  people  who  are  destined  to  be 
1 


2  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

the  most  numerous  family  of  our  race.  The  subject  is  thus  of 
commanding  interest  to  all  thoughtful  minds,  whether  intent 
on  political  inquiry  or  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  whether 
depressed  by  the  former  history  of  similar  events  or  but  recently 
elated  with  the  buoyant  hopes  which  the  exulting  prosperity  of 
the  New  World  encouraged.  And  there  are  those  who  are  im- 
pressed with  the  belief  that  it  may  prove  impossible  for  this 
country  to  maintain  a  policy  of  inaction  for  so  long  a  period  as 
civil  wars  have  usually  endured.  We  are,  indeed,  already  par- 
ties to  the  contest,  as  sharing  the  suffering  it  creates.  So  far 
the  progress  of  events  has  still  permitted  us  to  look  on  as  specta- 
tors ;  but  the  time  approaches  when  large  masses  of  our  popula- 
tion will  be  reduced  to  want,  and  when,  however  anxious  to 
maintain  neutrality,  it  will  become  extremely  difficult  to  con- 
tinue in  an  attitude  of  indifference. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  greater  part  of  our  information  as 
to  the  merits  of  the  contest  has  been  supplied  by  one  only  of 
the  contending  parties.  'The  Federal  or  legitimate  party  —  for 
strange  as  it  seems,  this  term  may  now  be  used  in  American 
aftaii's  —  have  an  overwhelming  command  of  the  press.  They 
have  the  ear  of  Europe,  and  the  advantage  of  exclusive  and 
constant  intercourse  with  us.  And  greatly  beyond  these  in  its 
influence  to  their  advantage  is  the  fact  that  they  speak  to  those 
whose  principles  and  sympathy  incline  greatly  in  their  favor. 

But  all  know  that  in  political  affairs  sentiment  and  sympathy 
have  the  effect  of  coloring-media,  through  which  objects  arc 
presented  in  a  light  more  or  less  at  variance  with  truth.  The 
more  they  attract  in  the  direction  of  one  party  the  more  requi- 
site it  becomes  to  hold  them  at  arm's  length — to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  one  of  our  judges  who  recently  replied  to  an  impatient 
counsel:  "It  is  for  the  very  reason  that  my  opinion  inclines  to 
your  side  that  I  nuist  Avcigh  the  more  carefully  what  arguments 
there  may  be  upon  the  other." 

A  feeling  has  been  expressed  that  the  present  period  is  not 
the  time  for  any  inquiry  into  American  institutions,  and  that 
criticism  should  be  hushed  in  the  presence  of  such  grave  events. 
Unquestionably,  that  small  criticism  which  employs  itself  on 
matters  of  taste  and  habits  would  be  sadh-  out  of  place  at  such 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  6 

time ;  and  this  may  be  said,  too,  of  any  in<|Hiry  conducted  in  a 
carping  spirit.  It  can  be  no  time  to  recount  a  man's  faults  when 
lie  lies  stretched  in  dangerous  illness;  but  it  may  be  very  right 
earnestly  to  inquire  what  has  brought  him  to  that  condition — 
what  causes  predisposing  to  disease  must  be  eradicated  before 
he  can  be  thoroughly  restored,  and  more  especially  how  far  any 
course  we  may  take  would  delay  or  promote  recovery  to  really 
sound  health. 

Another  reason  for  silence  has  been  assigned  by  those  who 
remind  us  that  we  are  of  the  same  kith  and  kin.  This,  like  all 
sentiment,  may  be  pushed  to  an  undue  excess.  Relationship  is 
mutual,  and  its  obligations  are  mutual.  We  cannot  discover 
where  this  has  been  acknowledged  by  American  citizens,  save  in 
their  eloquence  in  after-dinner  Anglo-Saxon  speeches.  Such 
words  are  valuable  in  the  degree  in  which  facts  confirm  them. 
We  have  received  for  many  years  one  certain  and  unvarying 
treatment — our  manufactures  have  just  been  virtually  prohibit- 
ed— the  largest  branch  of  our  commerce  is  now  paralyzed  by  a 
deliberate  act  —  we  are  addressed  in  terms  and  visited  with 
threats  which  bespeak  no  manner  of  afTectign.  The  relationship 
appears  to  bring  to  one  side  considerable  indignity  and  scant 
justice;  must  it  return  to  the  other  nothing  but  tenderness  and 
love  ?  There  has  perhaps  been  enough  of  this  fastidious  deli- 
cacy, and  matters  grow  too  serious  for  more  of  it.  It  may  possi- 
bly have  created  a  willingness  to  rely  upon  it  and  to  abuse  it. 
We  take  it  to  be  now  our  plain  duty  neither  to  be  dismayed  at 
the  present  power  of  America,  nor  at  that  which  has  already 
threatened  us  as  a  prospect  of  the  future  —  nor  yet  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  any  virulence  of  the  press,  with  which  that  country  is 
afflicted — nor,  furthermore,  to  be  restrained  by  sentiments  which 
though  responded  to  in  ])hrases  are  denied  in  facts.  We  have 
been  invited,  nay,  vehemently  urged  to  support  the  Union  or  to 
sympathize  with  those  who  arc  struggling  to  restore  it.  Under 
these  circumstances  shall  we  take  its  merits  upon  trust,  and  con- 
tinue to  believe  in  them  on  hearsay;  or  may  we  not  attempt  to 
form  an  opinion  of  our  own,  whether  or  not  it  be  for  the  real 
welfare  of  any  portion  of  the  United  States  that  the  Union 
should  be  restored  V 


4  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

We  cannot,  indeed,  dispute  the  eloquence  of  the  terms  in 
which  its  advantages  have  been  portrayed.  The  marvellous 
progress  of  the  United  States  seems  to  confirm  these  glowing 
descripticms.  We  have  heard,  too,  indignant  denunciations  of 
rebels  and  traitors,  and  our  own  loyalty  has  predisposed  us  to 
join  in  the  censure,  though  in\he  milder  spirit  of  the  looker-on. 
We  have  heard  of  the  Free,  as  opposed  to  the  Slave  states,  and 
our  repugnance  to  slavery  has  impelled  us  toward  the  voice  that 
was  said  to  be  the  voice  of  freedom.  We  hear  the  praises  of 
the  Constitution  sounding  and  resounding  so  loudly  that  we  fall 
into  a  kind  of  deferential  acquitiscence,  and  yield  ourselves  to 
be  swept  along  by  so  irresistible  a  torrent  of  applause. 

And  yet,  after  all,  it  may  be  that  the  maintenance  of  a  Con- 
stitution which  was  framed  by  slave-owners  will  afford  slender 
hope  of  advantage  to  the  slave;  and  indeed  it  seems  possible 
that  the  chances  of  his  escape  might  be  better  in  breaking  the 
walls  of  his  prison  than  in  rebuilding  them.  It  may  prove  that 
the  Southern  rebels  and  pirates  may  be  simply  following,  and 
for  similar  reasons,  the  example  of  those  who  have  been  extolled 
for  the  very  conduct  so  reprobated  in  others  now.  Indeed  we 
may  possibly  find  that  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States,  so 
dazzling  to  the  eye — their  rapid  progress  and  sudden  wealth — 
may  arise  from  local  or  peculiar  causes,  and  tliat  the  Union  may 
have  been  silently  working  out  effects  in  the  highest  ^degree 
jirejudicial,  while  the  vigorous  energy  of  the  race  and  the  glare 
of  apparent  success  may  have  confused  our  judgment  and  di- 
verted attention  from  the  real  facts. 

In  endeavoring  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  true  value  of  the 
Union  one  of  the  first  questions  that  arises  in  the  mind  is 
whether  this  form-  of  government — that  of  a  Federal  republic — 
be  really  permanent  In  its  nature.  Were  the  Union  in  its  for- 
mer condition  there  would  be  little  interest  in  this  inquiry;  but 
severed  as  it  now  is,  and  when  so  costly  an  effort  is  being  made 
to  restore  it,  we  naturally  ask  whether  durability  may  be  ex- 
pected in  the  future.  All  experience  seems  to  teach  that  this 
form  of  government  can  never  permanently  endure,  except  on 
a  very  small  scale,  and  under  rare  and  peculiar  circumstances. 
There  have  been  already  two  Federal  republics  in  the  United 


POLITICAL    INSTITL'TIONS    OF    TIIK    UNION.  5 

States,  or  ratlier  the  Union  has  existed  under  two  Constitu- 
tions—that bearing  the  title  of  "  Articles  of  Confederation," 
under  whieh  the  Revolutionary  war  was  terminated,  and  that 
whicli  followed  it,  and  now  exists.  The  history  of  Greece 
affords  an  example  of  two  federStions  somewhat  similar  in  their 
principles  to  the  two  Constitutions  of  the  Union. 

Under  the  Aniphictyonic  Council  the  states  of  Greece  were 
loosely  united  in  a  league  similar  to  that  of  the  American  states 
under  the  old  Congress.  The  Grecian  republics  also  retained 
their  individual  sovereignty — had  ecpial  votes— and  the  Council 
.'  was  invested  with  power  to  declare  war  and  make  peace— to 
decide  controversies  between  the  states— to  admit  new  ones  into 
the  league,  and  to  promote  its  general  weltare— in  short,  with 
all  the  ciiief  attributes  of  the  Congress  in  the  first  Confederation. 
This  was  followed  in  another  portion  of  Greece  by  the  Achaean 
league,  the  type  of  the  present  Federal  republic.  Its  members 
retained  -their  local  power  and  jurisdiction  under  a  senate,  or 
federal  government,  to  which  were  allotted  the  rights  of  war 
and  i)oace,  the  duty  of  receiving  and  sending  ambassadors,  of 
making  treaties,  and  of  appointing  a  praetor,  or  president,  who 
administered  the  federal  affairs  under  the  advice  of  the  senate. 
The  same  laws,  customs,  measures,  and  coin  were  ordained; 
strangers  were  admitted  to  citizenship  on  equal  terms;  and  the 
effective  nature  of  the  union  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  when 
Sparta  joined  it  she  had  to  alter  the  laws  of  Lycurgus  for  the 
purpose.  In  spite  of  all  this,  both  these  federations  failed  to 
endure;  and  it  may  be  held  that  they  proved  of  serious  injury 
to  Greece,  by  sustaining  the  small  states  in  a  separate  yet  in- 
effective existence;  while  but  for  this  they  might  have  been 
incorporated  with  the  larger,  and  so  have  prevented  the  civil 
wars  that  proved  so  fatal  to  the  country. 

If  it  be  held  that  the  mercurial  character  of  the  Greek  ren- 
dered his  government  unstable,  we  have  another  instance  in 
modern  times  among  a  people  of  all  in  Euroi)e  the  least  open 
to  that  charge.  The  united  ])rovinces  of  Holland  formed  a 
federal  rejiublic  under  a  president  bearing  the  title  of  stadt- 
holder.  The  confederation  hail  an  assembly,  or  congress,  for 
general  affairs,  each  pi-ovince  or  state  having  its  own  legislature 


6  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

for  provincial  purposes,  and  enjoying  a  theoretical  sovereignty. 
The  history  of  this  republic  presents  in  some  points  a  striking 
analogy  to  that  of  the  United  States.  The  Dutch  not  only 
made  a  similar  commercial  progress,  but  displayed  an  energy, 
both  in  commerce  and  war,  without  any  parallel  in  modern  his- 
tory, if  the  small  dimensions  of  the  country,  and  its  many  disad- 
vantages are  considered.  The  same  features  are  found  in  all 
these  cases — great  activity  in  the  people,  constant  intestine 
commotions,  and  the  eventual  extinction  of  the  system  of  gov- 
ernment. 

But  there  are  instances  much  nearer  at  hand.  Mexico,  Cen- 
tral America,  Columbia,  and  the  Argentine  republic  all  copied 
the  example  of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  argued  that  the 
system  has  failed  in  these  cases,  not  from  demerit  in  itself  but 
from  the  faults  of  race.  But  if  any  government  succeed  with 
one  race  and  fail  with  all  others,  it  would  appear  that  the  whole 
merit  of  the  success  must  lie  in  the  race,  and  not  with  the  sys- 
tem. Certainly,  in  every  other  instance  on  record,  federal 
republicanism,  when  the  component  states  have  had  the  dimen- 
sions of  powers,  and  not  of  provinces,  has  proved  a  signal  failure. 
If  its  merits  are  to  be  tested  by  experience,  it  would  appear  that 
results  have  invariably  disproved  it,  not  only  in  remote  times, 
but  in  the  present  age,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
Union,  and  under  the  most  favorable  auspices.  In  the  case  of 
Mexico,  it  is  capable  of  very  clear  demonstration  that  the  politi- 
cal ruin  of  that  unhappy  country  has  mainly  resulted  from  evils 
arising  in  a  federal  system,  copied  from  tiiat  of  the  United 
States.  In  their  war  of  independence,  the  Mexicans  proved 
themselves  to  be  men  equal  to  the  Brazilians;  and  yet,  now  that 
time  has  developed  the  effects  of  political  institutions,  how  infe- 
rior is  their  condition !  On  one  side  of  the  Andes  the  federal 
system  exists  in  the  Argentine  republic,  a  scene  of  incessant 
strife,  oscillating  between  anarchy  and  despotism,  with  intermit- 
tent fits  of  civil  war ;  while  on  the  other  side  of  that  range 
there  is  a  republic — that  of  Chili — free  from  the  federal  princi- 
ple ;  a  people  of  the  same  race,  much  less  favorably  situated, 
yet  steadily  prosperous  to  the  present  day.  Thus  the  general 
experience  of  the  New  as  well  as  of  the  Old  World  teaches 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  11 

tntions  and  what  influence  they  have  exercised  on  the  character 
of  the  people  in  public  life.  After  this  examination  it  will 
naturally  follow  to  consider  the  causes  that  have  led  to  its  dis- 
ruption at  the  present  time.  Assuming  that  these  causes  have 
proved  suflicient  in  the  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  South  to 
create  on  their  part  a  strong  desire  for  self-government,  the 
question  will  arise  whether  they  have  really  a  constitutional 
right  to  secede  from  the  Union.  After  examining  that  subject, 
to  whatever  conclusion  we  may  come,  as  the  right  of  revolution 
is  admitted,  we  may  proceed  to  inquire  whether  the  Southern 
states  possess  those  resources  and  that  military  power  without 
which  any  attempt  at  either  secession  or  revolution  might  prove 
abortive.  This  subject  being  investigated  we  may  pass  to  a 
consideration  of  our  own  interest,  first  weighing  whether  or  not 
we  are  bound  by  any  obligations ;  and  we  may  then  take  a  gen- 
eral view  of  the  probable  results  of  the  contest,  both  in  the 
event  of  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  or  in  that  of  its  separa- 
tion into  two  powers. 

We  believe  that  no  cause  reall\'  exists  that  pi-events  the  peo- 
ple of  this  country  from  forming  an  impartial  decision  on 
American  affairs.  The  majority  of  the  people  of  that  country 
are  cousins  of  ours  only  thrice  removed.  No  Englishman  ever 
thinks  or  speaks  of  an  American  as  a  foreigner;  nor  is  it  without 
a  feeling  of  surprise  and  of  some  degree  of  pain  that  he  hears 
himself  called  a  "  foreigner"  on  landing  on  their  shores.  They 
may  not  attach  precisely  the  same  significance  to  the  word,  but 
still  the  sound  of  it  grates  upon  his  ear.  We  have  no  other  than 
an  earnest  desire  that  this  convulsion  may  eventually  result,  as 
we  believe  it  will,  to  the  real  benefit  of  the  whole  people. 
Their  prosperity  is  part  of  ours,  for  we  have  buried  the  com- 
mercial jealousy  of  b}-gone  days  with  other  errors  of  the  past. 
Happily,  we  have  learned  to  look  for  good  to  ourselves  in  all 
that  promotes  the  good  of  the  great  family  of  mankind.  As 
they  grow  in  numbers  we  shall  expect  a  more  extended  com- 
merce ;  and  as  poverty  was  never  j'et  a  good  customer,  we  may 
look  for  some  advantage  in  all  that  adds  to  their  wealth.  Nor 
does  there  exist  any  political  contingency  to  awaken  distrust  or 
alarm.     If  Canada  wen-  to  express  clearly  and  calmly  through 


12  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

the  voice  of  a  majority  of  her  people  a  desire  to  leave  us  and  to 
join  the  Union,  though  we  might  question  her  taste  and  greatly 
doubt  her  judgment,  we  should  have  noniing  else  to  deplore. 
We  should  institute  no  blockade  nor  embark  in  any  war  to 
retain  her  against  her  will ;  we  should  be  more  inclined  to  say 
farewell  and  bid  her  God  speed.  We  have  no  such  mean  opin- 
ion of  the  dignity  of  our  household  as  to  constrain  those  to 
remain  in  it  who  like  it  not.  In  the  direction  of  rivalry  on  the 
ocean  no  political  apprehensions  can  arise  in  the  case  of  a  power 
whose  policy  it  has  always  been  to  avoid  the  cost  of  maintaining 
any  serious  naval  force.  Commercial  rivalry  cannot  be  greatly 
feared  by  those  who  have  striven  for  many  years  to  invite  com- 
petition by  every  effort  of  legislation.  In  all  these  things  there 
is  nothing  to  preclude  a  strong,  earnest  desire  to  see  the  Ameri- 
cans a  prosperous  and  a  great  people—  to  see  them  not  only 
enforcing  the  respect  of  Europe,  but  also,  and  still  more,  to  see 
them  in  possession  of  its  admiration  and  esteem. 

What,  then,  have  really  been  the  effects  of  the  Union  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  on  the  welfare  and  character 
of  the  {>eople  ?  Have  they  really  worked  for  good  or  for  evil  ? 
We  know  something  of  the  period  of  Washington.  Are  the 
people  noSv  the  same ;  have  they  advanced  in  common  with  the 
social  and  political  advancement  of  other  nations  ;  or  have  they 
retrograded  as  a  people  during  the  eighty  years  that  have 
elapsed  ? 

It  seems  an  invariable  rule  with  those  who  come  forward  in 
support  of  the  Union  to  avoid  these  grave  questions,  and  to  con- 
fine their  attention  to  mere  increase  of  numbers  and  trade. 
This  progress  they  attribute  largely  to  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  Constitution.  Pictures  are  drawn  of  the  deplorable  state 
of  the  country  immediately  before  it  came  into  operation,  and  of 
the  great  prosperity  that  has  ensued.  But,  in  truth,  it  was  not 
in  the  power  of  laws  to  avert  the  debility  and  suffering  that  re- 
sulted from  a  war  of  seven  years  duration — a  war  undertaken 
by  communities  possessed  of  little  wealth  and  no  credit,  and  fol- 
lowed by  oppressive  debts  and  exhausted  resources.  No  system 
of  government  could  have  prevented  a  period  of  dreary  reaction 
from  the  excitement  of  the  war,  or  a  sorrowful  reckoning  of  its 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  13 

cost.  #Ancl  after  this  term  had  passed  away,  we  can  imagine  no 
government  so  bad,  within  the  limits  of  reason,  that  it  could 
have  prevented  rapid  progress  in  a  country  enjoying  sui-h 
abundant  elements  of  growth. 

We  may  a.ssume  that  the  government  of  the  colonies  by  Great 
Britain  must  have  been  bad  to  e.\(ite  them  to  rei)ol,  although, 
indeed,  we  see  rebellion  now  as  a  result  of  what  we  are  told  are 
excellent  institutions.  But  believing,  as  we  may  fairly  do,  that 
it  was  defective,  both  in  temper  and  wisdom,  still  it  never  pre- 
vented the  rapid  growth  of  the  colonies.  This,  indeed,  is  obvi- 
ous from  the  shortness  of  the  period  within  which  they  had 
acquired  sufficient  numbers  and  strength  to  overthrow  it. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  alleged  o])pression,  more  than  one 
state  can  be  found  that  grew  more  rapidly  in  those  days  than  at 
any  time  since  in  the  Union.  We  shill  see  that  there  are  those 
which,  even  at  the  present  day,  look  back  mournfully  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  olden  time. 

If,  indeed,  it  had  been  the  "magic"  influence  of  the  Constitu- 
tion that  restored  prosperity  to  the  country,  we  should  expect  to 
find  that  the  same  influence  would  have  power  to  avert  periods 
of  similar  depression.  This  has  not  beew  the  case.  A  term  of 
equal  sufl'ering  followed  the  war  with  this  country  in  1814, 
though  the  Constitution  was  then  in  full  operation,  and  since 
there  have  been  periods  of  panic,  of  general  bank  suspensions, 
and  Avide-spread  insolvency,  witli  long  terms  of  gloomy  depres- 
sion, such  as  the  era  extending  from  183  7  to  1842,  periods  equal 
in  distress  to  that  which  ushered  in  the  Constitution. 

There  were,  indeed,  special  circumstances  that  rendered  it  of 
great  service  at  the  time  of  its  coming  into  operation.  It  avert- 
ed tKe  datiger  of  civil  war,  which  was  then  impending;  it  en- 
abled a  settlement  to  be  effected  of  the  war  debt ;  it  obtained 
the  respect  of  foreign  powers ;  and  as  the  old  Confederation  had 
virtually  died  out,  it  had  the  great  value  of  supplying  a  govern- 
ment where  practically  none  existed.  But  the  services  it  thus 
rendered  are  neither  a  certain  proof  of  merit  in  its  principles, 
nor  yet  of  its  suitability  to  the  circumstances  of  the  present  day. 
Any  reasonable  form  of  government  will  be  of  value,  as  com- 
pared with  chaos;  and  it  seems  a  very  exaggerated  view  of  the 


14  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

case  to  attribute  to  its  excellence  the  subsequent  progress  of  the 
country,  which  has  been,  in  the  main,  the  result  of  obvious  natu- 
ral causes.  It  required  no  magic  to  produce  that  progress,  nor 
is  there  anything  in  it  to  cause  astonishment.  The  United 
States  are  really  a  vast  region  of  fertile  soil,  to  which  the 
crowded  people  of  Europe  —  Englishmen,  Irishmen,  Germans, 
and  others — have  passed  over.  Taking  with  them  the  knowl- 
edge and  experience  earned  in  Europe  by  the  toil  of  ages,  they 
entered,  so  to  speak,  into  a  magnificent  domain,  free  of  rent,  of 
tithe,  of  encumbrance,  *  and  with  implements  ready  to  their 
hands.  That  population  should  grow  rapidly,  and  wealth  in- 
crease under  such  circumstances,  is  as  na'tural  and  inevitable  as 
that  water  which  has  gained  an  entrance  into  a  valley  should 
flow  on,  and  spread  out  into  a  wide  expanse. 

And,  indeed,  if  we  are  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  true  value  of 
the  Union  and  its  institutions,  no  standard  would  be  more  decep- 
tive than  that  of  superficial  prosperity.  We  must  seek  for  their 
effects  in  the  intellectual  and  social,  not  in  the  commercial 
growth  of  a  people.  Tables  of  imports  and  exports  are  a  very 
uncertain  test  of  the  merits  of  governments.  Venice  flourished 
in  golden  magnificence  under  a  detestable  political  system.  In- 
dia was  in  political  subjection  to  a  foreign  race,  despotic,  and 
alien  in  religion  and  polity,  during  the  only  period  of  her  his- 
tory that  is  clothed  with  external  splendor.  When  Greece  fell 
under  the  Roman  yoke  her  material  prosperity  increased,  a 
new  market  was  opened  to  her  commerce,  a  new  dominion  to 
her  literature  and  art.  In  every  material  sense  the  change  was 
to  her  advantage;  but  the  mind  of  Greece,  that  once  had  been 
the  peerless  light  of  the  world,  waned  into  that  obscurity  from 
which  it  has  never  since  emerged.  We  have,  indeed,  in  our 
own  time,  ample  proof  how  entirely  the  movements  and  prog- 
ress of  trade  may  be  apart  from  the  excellence  of  institutions. 
We  have  seen  them  in  France,  continuously  progressive  under 
extreme  changes  of  government ;  and  at  the  present  day,  if  ad- 
vance in  wealth,  in  exports,  in  luxury,  in  all  that  glitters  before 
the  eye,  should  be  adojited  as  a  proof  of  the  soundness  of  institu- 
tions, we  should  be  forced  to  submit  to  the  opinions  of  those 
who  take  an  enhghteued  despotism  as  their  model.     But  though  > 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  ( 

that  the  peace  aud  welfare  of  any  people,  under  a  federal  sys- 
tem or  union,  would  seem  to  be  only  a  temporary  exception  to 
an  invariable  rule. 

We  say  temporary,  for  the  present  disruption  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union  is  clearly  another  proof  of  the  rule.  It  has  long 
been  predicted  on  theoretical  grounds.  Whenever  a  federal 
republic  is  formed  of  states  large  enough  to  exist  as  independent 
powers,  or  which,  as  in  this  case,  have  already  existed  as  inde- 
pendent connnunities,  two  opposite  forces  come  at  once  into 
action.  There  is  the  original  attraction,  or  the  compression  that 
brought  them  and  holds  them  together,  and  there  is  a  disruptive 
force  in  the  jealously,  ambition,  and  conflicting  interests  that 
come  into  existence.  So  long  as  the  former  exceed  the  latter 
they  continue  united,  but  whenever  the  disruptive  power  over- 
comes that  of  cohesion  they  fall  asunder,  unless  restrained  by 
force ;  and  to  ajjply  force  is  to  abandon  the  principle  of  the  sys- 
tem. It  will  be  seen  that  time  tells  upon  these  influences  with 
a  twofold  eflTect.  The  states  originally  unite  because  they  are 
weak,  because  their  population  is  small,  and  they  have  a  sense  of 
insecurity  in  standing  alone  in  the  world.  Time  removes  all 
this,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  strengthens  all  the  influences 
that  tend  to  disruption  ;  for  with  the  growth  of  riches  come  the 
means  of  political  corruption  —  with  the  accumulation  of  masses 
of  indigent  population  arise  the  elements  of  discontent  —  with 
the  development  of  special  branches  of  industry  conflicting  in- 
terests come  into  j)lay — with  the  increase  of  grandeur  there  will 
grow  too  the  spirit  of  ambition.  There  is  but  one  thing  that 
can  counteract  all  this.  When  the  original  union  of  states  has 
in  the  progress  of  its  development  become  homogeneous,  so 
that  time  has  obliterated  the  first  lines  of  distinction,  and  the 
whole  has  fused  into  a  united  people  —  in  that  case  the  federal 
principle  has  disappeared  and  given  place  to  a  consolidated 
state.  In  the  United  States,  although  this  has  occurred  in  some 
respects,  In  others,  and  those  of  far  the  greatest  force,  time  has 
wrought  the  opposite  efTect.  The  original  elements  continue, 
and  permit  the  action  of  the  laws  under  which  time  and  growth 
are  fatal  to  this  fonn  of  government.  In  truth,  no  federal  union 
has  ever  been  formed,   on   a  large  scale,  of  states   which  had 


O  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

approached  a  mature  condition ;  it  has  always  been  the  resource 
of  communities  still  young  and  feeble.  It  arises,  indeed,  out  of 
their  youth;  but  in  time  they  cease  to  be  young,  they  become 
mature  and  powei'ful,  and  when  this  point  is  reached  it  becomes 
as  natural  for  those  which  may  now  differ  from  the  rest  to  de- 
sire independence  and  free  action  as  for  grown  men  to  desire 
a  termination  of  the  conditions  which  were  necessary  and  fitting 
in  their  early  days. 

All  the  writers  who  have  commented  on  the  subject  appear  to 
have  entertained  these  opinions.  To  Lord  Macaulay's  letter 
no  one  has  attempted  a  reply,  for  it  was  unanswerable.  Con- 
fining himself  to  one  element,  he  pointed*  out,  with  a  force 
carrying  irresistible  conviction,  how  that  single  element  of  dense 
urban  population  would  eventually  overthrow  tlie  Union.  The 
framers  of  the  Constitution  enteHained  misgivings  upon  the 
subject.  Curtis,  in  his  History  of  the  Constitution,  observes : 
"  Many  of  the  wisest  of  the  statesmen  of  that  period,  as  we  now 
know,  entertained  doubts  whether  the  country  embraced  by  the 
thirteen  original  states  would  not  be  too  large  for  the  successful 
operation  of  a  republican  government.  Washington  expressed 
his  fears  more  than  once.  It  was  a  serious  question  in  his  mind 
whether  that  extent — insignificant  as  it  was  when  compared  with 
the  present  dominion  —  was  not  too  large  to  abide  permanently 
under  one  rule.  He  foresaw  the  effects  of  time,  but  Avisely 
avoided  unsettling  discussions  on  the  subject.  In  one  of  his  let 
ters  he  observes  :  "  Let  experience  solve  the  question  ;  to  listen 
to  speculation  in  such  a  case  were  criminal."  Jefferson  wrote 
thus  forty  years  ago :  "  I  have  been  among  the  most  sanguine 
in  believing  that  our  LTnion  would  be  of  long  duration.  I  now 
doubt  it  much,  and  see  the  event  at  no  great  distance.  My  only 
comfort  and  confidence  is  that  I  shall  not  live  to  see  it."  De 
Tocqueville,  in  many  passages,  expresses  his  opinion  that  the 
Union  could  not  endure :  indeed,  he  says :  "  The  history  of  the 
■world  affords  no  instance  of  a  great  nation  retaining  the  form  of 
republican  government  for  a  long  series  of  years." 

Writers  of  the  present  day,  whenever  they  consider  the  sub- 
ject, express  their  doubts  of  the  durability  of  the  L^nion. 
Grattan  observes :     "  The  day  must  no  doubt  come  when  clash- 


POLITICAL   INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  0 

ing  objects  will  bi-oak  the  ties  of  a  common  interest  whieli  now 
preserve  the  Union.  The  districts  of  South,  North,  and  West 
iare  joined  like  some  wall  of  incongruous  material  with  a  ceme«t 
insuflicient  to  secure  ])er])ptual  coliesion.  They  will  inevitably 
crumble  into  confusion,  though  no  man  may  foretell  the  period 
of  dissolution."  Even  the  period  has  been  predicted  with 
remarkable  accuracy.  A  Russian  writer,  Ivan  Golovin,  made 
the  ren'iark  si.\  years  ago:  "  A  visit  to  the  United  States  has  the 
strange  property  of  cooling  democrats.  Again  I  tell  you  that 
the  manifest  destiny  of  the  states  is  disunion.  I  do  not  give  the 
Union  eight  years  to  la.st."  Sterling  in  his  able  letters  from  the 
Slave  states  writesthus:  "  It  appears  to  me  that  amid  so  many 
elements  of  uncertainty  in  the  future,  botli  from  the  excited 
state  of  men's  minds  in  the  states  tliemseh'es  and  the  comi)lica- 
tion  of  surrounding  circumstances,  no  wise  man  would  venture 
to  foretell  the  probable  issue  of  American  affairs  during  the 
next  four  years."  This  was  written  in  1857,  and  just  within 
the  four  years  the  disruption  has  occurred.* 

Indeed,  let  any  one  take  the  map  of  America  and  consider 
that  the  valley  of  the  Missi.«sippi  alone  is  capable  of  containing 
and  supporting  a  population  equal  to  that  of  the  whole  of 
Europe,  and  let  him  ask  himself  if  it  be  in  the  nature  of  things 


*  Many  other  aiitlioiitics  might  he  adtleil.  as.  for  instance.  Sydney  Smith,  who 
ohservos:  "  Tlie  Americans  ai-e  very  sensilde.  reflecting  people,  ami  have  con- 
ducted their  atlairs  extremely  well ;  but  it  is  scarcely  pust-iblc  to  conceive  that 
8uch  an  empire  should  very  long  remain  undivided,  or  that  the  dwellers  on  the 
Columbia  should  have  common  interest  with  the  navigators  of  the  Hudson  and 
the  Delaware."'  Sir  Archibald  Alison  also  remarks:  -It  does  not  re<)uire  the 
gift  of  i)ropliocy  to  foretell  that  a  viust  confederacy  of  separate  states,  each  with 
its  own  legislature  and  armed  force,  and  actuated  from  liiflerence  of  climate  and 
situatiiin  by  opjiosite  anil  contlicting  interests,  held  to};etlier  liy  so  slender  a  tie.  is 
not  destined  to  hang  hmg  together."  In  Coleridge's  •  Table  Talk  "'  the  fnllowing 
passage  wciirs:  "  Can  there  lie  any  thorough  national  fusion  of  the  Northern  and 
Southern  states?  1  think  not.  In  fact,  the  Union  will  be  shaken  ahhost  to  dislo- 
c'ation  whenever  a  very  seiiou.s  question  between  the  stijtes  arises.  The  Amer- 
ican Union  has  no  centre,  and  it  is  imjiossible  now  to  make  one.  The  more  they 
extend  their  borders  into  the  Indian's  laml  the  weaker  will  the  national  cohesion 
be.  Rut  1  look  upon  the  states  as  spletidiil  masses  to  be  used  by  an<i  by  in  the 
composition  of  two  or  three  great  governments.'  The  reader  will  not  fail  to 
observe  how  strikingly  the  accuracy  of  these  far-seeing  views  is  verified  by  the 
events  of  the  present  liay. 


10  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

that  a  continent  embracing  so  wide  a  range  of  latitude  and 
climate  should  permanently  remain  under  a  single  rule.  From 
the  earliest  ages  the  other  continents  have  been  the  abode,  each 
of  them,  of  many,  distinct  communities;  and  whenever  the 
attempt  has  been  made  to  aggregate  many  of  these  under  one 
government  it  has,  however  successful  for  the  time,  invariably 
ended  in  division.  There  are  clearly  principles  inherent  in  our 
nature  which  throughout  all  periods  of  history,  and  in  all  quar- 
ters of  the  world,  have  worked  out  this  same  result.  If  the 
American  be  one  of  ourselves  the  same  law  will  apply  to  him, 
the  same  influences  will  affect  him.  They  may  not  come  into 
action  for  a  time,  during  a  period  of  rapid  growth,  when  men's 
minds  are  absorbed  in  their  own  pursuits — the  backwoodsman 
in  clearing  the  forests  or  the  farmer  in  ploughing  up  the  prairie 
— but  all  this  has  an  end.  The  question  is  simply  one  of  time, 
unless  we  assume  that  American  nature  Is  different  from  what 
human  nature  has  elsewhere  proved  to  be.  In  this  view  of  the 
subject,  when  estimating  the  value  of  the  Union  we  cannot  but 
regard  it  as  a  political  condition  essentially  temporary  in  its 
natui-e ;  and  this  costly  and  terrible  effort  to  preserve  it,  if  suc- 
cessful, can  have  no  other  result  than  to  defer  for  a  time  that 
which,  sooner  or  later,  is  inevitable.* 

The  object  of  the  present  inquiry  is  to  form  a  judgment  of 
the  real  value  of  the  Union,  not  as  an  abstract  question  but  in 
connection  with  the  existing  struggle  for  its  maintenance.  We 
propose  in  the  first  place  to  consider  what  its  effectii  have  been 
politically  and  socially — what  are  the  actual  results  of  its  insti- 

*  A  reviewer  lias  complained  of  some  difficult)'  in  distinguishing  whether  we 
object  to  federalism  or  to  i-epublicanism.  Whatever  our  opinion  on  the  subject 
may  be,  in  no  part  of  the  work  will  an  expression  be  found  adverse  to  republican, 
ism,  except,  indeed,  one  of  De  Tocqueville's.  given  as  a  quotation  from  him.  The 
strictures  referred  to  are  confined  to  the  federal  principle,  the  compound  system, 
the  partnership  in  government,  and  at  page  7  the  reasons  are  assigned  at  length 
why  this  principle  fails.  Even  a  contrast  is  offered  between  a  federal  republic  and 
a  simple  one,  tliat  of  Chili.  The  critic  obviouslj'  confounds  democracy  with  re- 
publicanism, and  the  confusion  of  mind  thus  produced  is  further  entangled  with 
federalism.  On  reperusal.  or  rather  on  perusing  for  the  first  time  correctly,  he 
will  find  objections  to  federalism  and  to  ultra  democracy,  but  that  none'  are 
applied  in  any  instance,  and  on  the  contrary  that  friendly  expressions  are  inva- 
riably used  in  speaking  of  pure  republicanism. 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  15 

we  find  that  trade  has  often  flourished  under  ignoble  govern- 
ments, we  shall  search  in  vain  through  the  page  of  history  to 
find  that  they  are  capalile  of  maintaining  health  and  purity  in 
the  social  and  politic.il  character  of  a  people. 

As  we  proceed  we  shall  frequently  find  it  impracticable  to 
separate  the  Union  from  the  Constitution.  The  latter  is  the 
sole  bond  of  union,  and  whatever  terminates  the  one  ends  the 
other.  It  will,  however,  be  very  necessary  to  recollect — and  it 
is  frequently  forgotten — that  the  present  is  the  second  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States.  The  Union  existed  long  before  its 
date;  indeed  its  germs  may  be  traced  back  as  far  as  1754.  Im- 
mediately upon  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  in  1774,  a 
Union  was  formed  under  a  government  bearing  the  title  of 
Congress:  but  althcTugh  inde]iendence  was  declared  on  the  4th 
July,  177Ci,  and  there  were  terms  of  agreement  under  which 
the  Union  subsisted,  no  permanent  and  methodical  Constitution 
Avas  framed  until  the  1st  March,  1781,  when  the  "Articles  of 
Confederation  "  came  into  force. 

Those  "Articles"  form  a  complete  and  very  elaborate  Consti- 
tution. We  know  that  exception  will  be  taken  to  their  being 
termed  a  Constitution,  because  they  are  not  called  by  that 
name.  But  what  a  thing  is,  according  to  European  logic,  de- 
pends on  the  thing  itself,  and  not  upon  the  name  given  to  it. 
Whether  that  name  be  a  code,  or  a  charter,  or  a  set  of  articles, 
or  whether,  indeed,  as  in  our  own  case,  there  be  no  written 
instrument  to  which  a  title  can  be  attached,  this  makes  no  real 
difference.  That  is  a  Constitution  the  terms  of  which  are  the 
framework  of  the  government  and  political  institutions  of  a 
country.  In  these  "Articles"  defects  were  discovered  afler  the 
termination  of  the  war,  not  indeed  so  much  inherent  in  the 
instrument  as  in  the  suriounding  circumstances;  and  gfter  sur- 
mounting great  difliculties,  the  second  Constitution  was  framed, 
which  is  now  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  present  Constitution,  although  extremely  complex,  is 
probably  inferior  to  none  ever  framed  in  the  ability  displayed 
in  dealing  with  difficult  and  incongruous  elements.  Had  those 
who  are  struggling  to  maintain  it  really  acted  in  its  spirit  no 
convulsion  would  now  have  occurred.     The  evils  of  the  countrv 


16  THE    AMERICAN    UNION.' 

arise  from  the  fact  that  the  Constitution  has  not  really  been 
maintained.  We  shall  find  as  we  proceed  that  some  of  its  most 
imjiortant  jirovisions  are  reduced  to  a  dead  letter,  and  tl»at  the 
princijial  causes  of  secession  could  never  have  existed  had  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution  been  adhered  to.  Its  marked  charac- 
teristic is  moderation.  The  prominent  characteristic  of  the 
people  at  the  present  day  is  excess.  So  far'  from  being  demo- 
cratic, all  the  leading  features  of  democracy  are  absent^from  it; 
there  is  no  universal  suffrage,  nor  household,  nor  uniform,  nor 
even  proportionate  suffrage  in  it.  It  was  framed  by  men  who 
were  not  impelled  by  the  thirst  of  popular  applause,  and  the 
spirit  that  actuated  them  may  be  judged  of  by  their  own  words. 
Hamilton,  the  master-spirit  of  its  framers,  observed  in  the 
convention  employed  in  forming  it:  "To  the  proper  adjustment 
of  checks  the  British  owe  the  excellence  of  their  constitution. 
Their  House  of  Lords  is  a  most  noble  institution.  Having 
nothing  to  hope  for  by  a  change,  an^i  a  sufficient  interest  by 
means  of  their  property  in  being  faithful  to  the  national  interest, 
they  form  a  permanent  barrier  againstevery  pernicious  innova- 
tion, Avhether  attempted  on  the  part  of  the  Crown  or  of  the 
Commons."  Upon  another  occasion  Adams,  the  second  Presi- 
dent, observed:  "Purge  the  British  constitution  of  its  corrup- 
tion and  give  to  its  popular  branch  equality  of  representation, 
and  it  would  be  the  most  perfect  constitution  ever  devised  by 
the  wit  of  men."  To  which  Hamilton  replied:  "As  it  stands  at 
present,  wi;h  all  its  supposed  defects,  it  is  tlie  most  perfect  form 
of  government  that  ever  existed."  Perhaps  those  who  urge  us 
to  copy  American  institutions  would  do  well  to  weigh  these 
words,  expressed  by  two  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  fathers  of 
that  republic* 

*  Exception  has  been  taken  to  our  terming  Hamilton  and  Adams  "two.of  the 
most  eminent  of  the  fatliers  of  the  republic."  Joliu  Adams  was  the  associate  of 
■Washington,  -and  his  successor — the  father  of  another  President,  and  the  most 
learned  of  all  of  them — he  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Bancroft  speuljs  of  him  as  '  the  abh-st  advocate  and  defender  of  independence." 
Hamilton  was  the  intimate  friend  and  adviser  of  Washingti  n,  both  during  the 
war  and  subsequently  as  a  member  of  his  Cabinet.  Of  him  Washington  Irving 
observes:  '-It  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  as  a  speater  and  writer  that  the 
Constitution  was  ultimately  accepted."    Professor  Bernard  in  his  recent  lectures 


POLITICAI/  INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  17 

We  agree  with  those  who  apart  from  incurable  defects  caused 
by  the  circumstances  admire  the  general  excellence  of  the  Con- 
stitution ;  and  we  consider  it  unquestionable  that  it  rendered 
important  service  to  the  country  at  the  period  of  its  adoption. 
Our  view  is  that  circumstances  are  so  widely  altered  that  it 
suits  them  no  longer,  even  if  fairly  interpreted.  We  believe, 
also,  that  the  Union  has  accelerated  the  rate  of  the  national 
progress.  But  it  does  not  follow  by  any  means  that  this  has 
been  a  real  advantage.  It  is  comimon  to  the  observation  of  all 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  growing  too  fast.  In  the  words  of 
Channing,  "Noble  growths  are  slow."  The  growth  of  the  pop- 
lar is  rapid  when  compared  with  the  growtli  of  tiie  oak;  but  we 
know  that  its  vahie  is  proportionately  small.  There  is  always  a 
ratio  between  growth  and  durability,  and  a  law  exists  that  what- 
ever grows  with  great  rapidity  will  as  rapidly  decay.  States 
have  sprung  as  by  a  leap  into  prominence  both  in  European 
and  Asiatic  history,  but  their  fall  has  been  sudden  as  their  rise. 

We  shall  be  the  more  inclined  to  doubt  whether  excessive 
fapidity  of  material  growth  be  any  lasting  advantage  if  we 
find  it  accompanied  by  a  continuous  decline  in  the  ciiaracter 
and  ability  of  public  men  and  in  the  general  standard  of  politi- 
cal morals.  It  was  observed  by  De  Tocqueville,  twenty-five 
years  ago :  "  It  is  a  well-authenticated  fact  that  at  the  present 
day  fhe  most  talented  men  in  the  United  States  are  very  rarely 
placed  at  the  head  of  affairs.  The  race  of  American  statesmen 
has  evidently  dwindled  most  remarkably  in  the  course  of  the  last 
fifty  years  "  And  if  this  observation  could  be  made  by  an  acute 
observer,  at  a  period  when  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun  were 
still  upon  the  stage,  it  would  appear  as  if  there'  were  some  im- 
poverishing and   exhaustive   principle   at   work,  when,  at  the 


on  the  American  w.xr  observes:  "No  one  can  now  read  the  collection  of  papers 
pultlislivd  under  tlie  title  of  'The  Federalist '  for  the  purpose  of  winning  over  the 
reluctant  State  of  New  York,  wittiout  (jonceivinj;  the  highest  ad?nirati<)n  for  the 
two  chief  writers  in  it — who  were  liliewise  tlie  chief  authors  of  the  (,'onstitution — 
especiallj"  for  Hamilton.  I  know  no  finer  m  'del  of  political  writing  than  some  of 
these  papers."  ft  were  needless  to  produce  further  evidence  to  warrant  the  mod- 
erate terms  of  the  text — terms  to  which  no  person  could  indeed  object  who  had 
not  lost  for  the  moment  all  his  recollections  of  American  history. 
2 


18  THK    AMERICAN     UNION^ 

present  day,  we  search  in  vain  for  one  single  name  that  may  be 
termed  that  of  a  statesman.  Politicians  cover  the  lantl,  states- 
men seem  to  have  become  extinct.  At  the  commencement  of 
its  history  no  country  produced  a  larger  proportion  of  men  of 
the  highest  order  of  ability;  indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
elsewhere  the  record  of  so  large  a  number  in  an  equal  popula- 
tion. The  fact  was  connnented  upon  by  Chatham  and  Burke  in 
terms  expressing  admiration  and  surprise.  The  names  of  Wash- 
ington, Franklin,  Hamilton,  Madison,  Marshall,  and  Jefferson 
are  universally  classed  among  the  names  of  men  of  eminent 
ability.  They  have  been  succeeded  in  our  day  by  the  names  of 
Fillmore,  Van  Buren,  Tyler,  Polk,  and  Pierce.  The  contrast  is 
too  obvious  to  need  any  comment;  and  when  we  inquire  intoits 
causes  we  shall  find  accompanying  this  decline  in  the  talent  of 
public  men  a  similar  decline  in  the  standard  of  political  morals. 

In  a  conversation  that  occurred  shortly  after  the  Constitution 
was  framed  Washington  expressed  the  hope  that  they  had  suc- 
ceeded in  forming  a  "respectable"  government.  To  apply  the 
term  respectable  to  the  government  would  be  regarded  by  an 
American  of  the  present  day  as  an  indignity.  In  the  mind  of 
Washington  the  standard  of  excellence  was  worth — something 
that  men  should  respect.  His  own  greatness,  indeed,  was  moral 
grandeur.  It  was  not  in  martial  genius,  nor  the  sj)arkle  of 
brilliant  deeds,  but  in  self-denying  endurance  of  toilworn  years— 
in  struggling  with  unexhausted  patience  under  extinguished 
hope — against  cold,  and  poverty,  and  meanness — against  jeal- 
ousy and  rancor  —  in  seeking  no  fame  and  desiring  no  re- 
ward— but  adopting,  like  one  of  our  own  time,  antl  contented  to 
adopt  that  most  rare  of  military  watchwords — duty. 

Unhappily,  as  it  seems  to  us,  the  standard  of  tiie  public  mind 
is  widely  altered.  The  vast  dimensions  -of  the  Union,  and  its 
incessant  growth,  have  filled  tlie  national  mind  with  conceptions 
of  size,  of  amplitude,  with  the  desire  to  excite  astonishment 
rather  than  to  command  respect.  Magnitude  has  become  the 
standard  in  place  of  worth.  We  shall  be  able  to  trace  the 
effects  of  this  alteration  in  the  standard  of  excellence,  and  we 
shall  find  it  extending  its  baneful  influence  over  many  features 
of  the  national  character. 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  l!) 

Ami  first,  what  has  caused  this  remarkable  decline  in  the 
ability  at  the  head  of  the  state  ?  There  is  no  reason  to  believe 
tiiat  there  exists  at  the  present  day  less  intellectual  power  than 
at  a  former  period.  All  evidence  tends  to  produce  an  im- 
l)ression  quilts  tlie  reverse  of  this.  Why,  then,  does  it  remain 
latent,  inactive,  politically  lost  'to  the  community  as  fully  as 
though  it  iiad  ceased  to  exist  ? 

Originally,  when  the  Constitution  came  into  action,  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States  amounted  but  to  three  millions,  and 
they  occupied  only  that  portion  of  the  Union  now  known  as  the 
Atlantic  border.  Within  these  moderate  dimensions  it  was  not 
dillicult  to  discern  superiority  of  talent,  or  to  select  men  of  emi- 
nent accjuirements.  It  was  considered  by  all  to  be  a  primary 
object  to  obtain  for  the  state  the  advantage  of  the  highest  at- 
tainable ability ;  and  the  men  eliosen  as  the  earliest  Presidents 
were  the  ablest  men  of  the  time.  But  the  Union  has  outgrown 
all  this.  It  stretches  now  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific — 
from  INlaine  to  Mexico.  Spread  over  so  vast  a  surface,  it  has 
become  physically  impossible  <br  its  citizens,  dwelling  tliousands 
of  miles  apart,  to  attempt  the  selection  of  the  President  on  the 
ground  of  merit.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that  the  renown  of  the 
orator  will  extend  far  and  wi«le,  without  much  heeding  the  olv- 
stade  of  space.  But  this  may  not  apply  to  that  of  the  states- 
man, of  whom  the  very  ablest  may  be  witiiout  any  gifl  of  words. 
Jefierson  observes,  in  his  Memoirs:  "  I  served  with  Washington 
in  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  before  the  Revolution,  and  during 
it  with  Franklin  in  Congress.  I  never  heard  either  of  them 
speak  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  nor  to  any  but  the  main  point, 
which  was  to  decide  the  (juestion."  And  Jcirerson's  pretensions 
to  oratory  were  no  greater.  Upon  this  point  we  find  at  once  a 
remarkable  change  in  the  national  character,  for  in  modern 
times  a  senator  has  been  known  to  speak  for  three  whole  days. 
The  most  valuable  of  all  the  gifts  of  the  statesm  in  is  assuredly 
judgment,  or  that  which,  when  combined  witli  knowledge,  may 
be  termed  wisdom :  it  was  the  characteristic  of  the  men  of 
WasliinLTtun's  age.  •  It  is  clearly  one  that  may  exist  with  very 
little  noise. 

That  abilitv  sliould  no  lon^rcr  form  the  jiround  of  selection  for 


20  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

the  Presidential  office  appears'  injurious  enough  ;  but  the  evil 
extends  much  beyond  this.  Under  the  system  that  now  prevails 
ability  is  a  certain  ban  of  exclusion.  It  proved  so  in  the  case  of 
Webster,  of  Clay,  of  Calhoun,  and  in  the  last  election,  of 
Seward.  The  fact  is  so  difficult  to  realize  that  it  becomes 
necessary  to  consider  how  these  elections  are  really  conducted 
in  America.  The  theory  of  the  Constitution  is  that  the  Presi- 
dent sliall  be  elected  by  the  people :  and  in  order  to  avoid  the 
difficulties  arising  from  wide  dispersion  it  provides  that  they 
shall  first  appoint  a  college  of  electors,  to  whom  ample  time  is 
afforded  for  deliberate  choice.  This  is  the  theory ;  in  practice, 
the  whole  power  has  passed  from  the  people  into  the  hands  of  a 
knot  of  professional  politicians,  and  the  electoral  college  has 
become  a  useless  form.  Its  members  are  now  denied  the  power 
of  choice,  and  are  reduced  to  the  reality  of  mere  instruments  for 
recording  the  votes  they  were,  from  the  first,  appointed  to  give. 
The  election  originates  with  a  committee  of  the  party,  thus  de- 
scribed by  (Ilarigny  in  the  "Revue  des  Deux  Mondes:"  "These 
committees  are  filled  with  briefless  lawyers,  with  doctors  without 
patients,  with  schemers,  place-hunters,  who  devote  themselves  to 
the  triumph  of  the  party  in  order  to  be  elected  to  some  little 
salaried  place.  All  the  chances  are  for  the  intriguers,  if  success 
be  obtained.  And  it  is  these  committees  which  name  the  dele- 
gates to  the  convention  which  has  to  choose  the  party  can- 
didate; the  immense  majority  of  the  citizens  have  no  other 
alternative  than  to  accept  these  nominations  as  they  stand,  or 
renounce  the  exeroise  of  their  vote."  The  members  of  the  con- 
vention thus  elected  meet  at  some  central  point  to  decide  upon 
a  candidate.  They  come  from  sections  of  the  country  hundreds 
of  miles  apart,  widely  different  in  their  interests,  part  of  them 
from  free  and  part  from  slave  states.  The  only  connecting  link 
is  a  common  desire  for  the  success  of  the  party ;  on  all  other 
points  there  is  strong  diversity  of  sentiment.  This  inevitably 
leads  to  great  difficulty  in  agreeing  upon  the  candidate.  The 
most  eminent  man  of  the  party  is  first  proposed — a  Clay  or  a 
Webster ;  but  it  immediately  appears  that  in  the  course  of  a 
vigorous  career  he  has  done  something,  made  some  declaration, 
or  adopted  some  principle  wliich  has  given  unpardonable  offence 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  21 

to  one  or  more  sections  of  tlie  party.  Unless  these  be*  con- 
ciliated there  must  be  a  division,  and  success  will  be  hopeless. 
Ballot  succeeds  'to  ballot  in  lonij  succession.  The  same  capital 
defect  of  eminence  which  excluded  the  leader  of  the  party, 
eliminates  others  of  less  celebrity.  At  length  a  compromise  is 
assented  to;  some  one  is  proposed  for  party's  sake — a  nonentity, 
a  Folk  or  a  Pierce,  of  whom  no  one  happens  to  know  any 
harm.  lie  is  chosen  not  as  a  person. fit  for  the  office,  but  as  the 
best  for  the  purposes  of  the  party.  And  here  another  rule 
comes  into  force  with  disastrous  effect.  If,  as  with  us,  the 
nominee  who  commanded  the  largest  number  of  votes  carried 
the  day,  then  the  most  eminent  would  be  selected  in  spite  of  sec- 
tional jealousy  and  opposition.  But  the  rule  in  the  United 
States  is  to  reijuire  not  a  relative  but  an  absolute  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  votes.  This  enables  the  promoters  of  sev- 
eral insignificant  candidates  to  render  It  impossible  for  any  other 
to  obtain  the  majority  recpiired.  The  injurious  effect  of  this  rule 
is  manifest  and  often  deplored  in  America.  In  this  country  such 
an  evil  would  be  eradicated  at  once,  immediately  on  its  effects 
being  discovered ;  but  in  the  United  States  there  is  a  written 
Constitution,  the  spirit  of  which,  as  we  have  just  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  electoral  college,  is  widely  departed  from,  while  the 
letter  and  form  remain  to  work  out,  in  this  and  many  other  in- 
stances, the  most  serious  injury  to  the  community.  In  the  pres- 
ent case  the  electoral  college  has  become  a  useless  form,  but  not 
a  harmless  one.  The  moment  the  electors  are  appointed  the 
future  President  is  known ;  all  the  influences  of  his  election 
come  at  once  into  action.  But  the  form,  the  letter  of  the  Con- 
stitution remains  in  force — he  is  not  yet  elected  legally.  The 
power  to  control  those  influences  will  not  come  into  being  for 
more  than  three  months,  and  probably  the  secession  movement 
would  not  have  succeeded,  and  the  disruption  of  the  Union 
might  not  now  have  occurred  but  for  this  departure  from  the 
spirit  of  an  instrument,  while  tlie  letter  of  it  continues  to  be  the 
law  of  the  land. 

And  whence  arises  sueh  a  political  system  as  this — -one  so 
opposed  to  reason  as  that  which  renders  eminence  an  insuper- 
able barrier  to  oftice — wirch  denies  the  faculty  of  choice  to  the 


22  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

electftr,  and  reduces  the  nominal  power  of  the  people  to  the  real 
privilege  of  putting  into  a  box  a  ticket  having  upon  it  the  name 
of  a  person  of  whom  the  great  majority  never  heard  before  ?  It 
arises  in  chief  from  the  excessive  magnitude  and  conflicting  in- 
terests of  the  Union — from  the  dispersion  of  the  people  over  a 
space  so  vast  that  necessity  enforces  a  system  of  this  kind. 
Were  an  attempt  made  to  exercise  any  really  popular  choice,  it 
would  end  in  inextricable  confusion.  It  has  been  observed  that 
we  also  act  through  party  organization;  but  .there  is  a  wide  dif 
ference.  We  use  party  at  elections  as  a  means  of  returning  the 
candidate  selected ;  but  here  the  candidate  is  selected  as  a 
means  of  success  to  the  party.  Not  only  is  his  fitness  for  the 
office  discarded  from  consideration,  but,  practically,  none  pre- 
tend to  consider  the  welfare  of  the  country  as  a  whole ;  the 
attention  and  cflTorts  of  all  are  concentrated  on  a  single  object, 
the  success  of  the  party  ticket. 

Under  such  a  sy^teni  we  can  no  longer  wonder  at  the  contrast 
which  the  recent  Prcsi<lents  offer  to  those  of  former  days.  And 
the  qualifications  recjuired  for  the  office  are  not  light.  Justice 
Story  thus  describes  them:  "The  nature  of  the  duties  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  President  are  so  various  and  complicated  as  not 
only  to  recpiire  great  talents  and  great  wisdom  to  perform  them, 
but  also  long  experience  in  office.  They  embrace  all  the  ar- 
rangements of  peace  and  war,  of  diplomacy  and  negotiation,  of 
finance,  of  naval  and  military  operations,  and  of  the  execution 
of  the  laws  through  almost  infinite  ramifications  of  details,  aiid 
in  places  at  vast  distances  from  each  other."  If  tliis  be  true,  and 
it  clearly  is  so,  how  is  it  possible  that  the  government  can  be 
properly  conducted  under  a  system  which  so  utterly  excludes 
these  (lualificajions  ?  It  "has  been  remarked  that  the  best  form 
of  government  is  that  which  places  the  best  men  in  office. 
Without  going  quite  so  far  as  this  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  system  is  a  vicious  one,  under  which  the  best  men  are 
excluded  from  office.  Olmstead  observes:  "Unquestionably 
there  are  great  evils  arising  from  the  lack  of  talent  applied  to 
our  government,  from  the  lack  of  real  dignity  of  charac-ter  and 
respectability  of  attainments  in  many  of  the  government  offices. 
We  cannot  afford   to  employ  a  heavy  proportion  of  talent  or 


I'OMTICAIi    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    INION.  16 

honesty  about  the  little  share  of  our  business  which  is  done  at 
the  capital."  If  this  explanation  of  the  cause  of  sueh  a(hnitte<l 
evils  were  correct  nothing  eouKl  be  more. unsatisfactory  ;  but  in 
reality  there  is  abundance  both  of  talent 'an(f  honesty  to  spare 
for  the  purposes  of  government.  They  are  not  absent  fi-oni 
their  deficiency,  but  because  the  existing  institutions  exclude 
thein. 

We  have  seen  what  are  the  qualifications  recjuired  in  the 
President;  his  powers  are  not  less  extensive.  In  many  impor- 
tant particulars  they  exceed  those  t^xercised  by  die  Crown  in 
this  country.  lie  not  only  has  the  right  to  veto  the  acts  of  the 
legislature,  but  not  uiifrefpiently  uses  it.  He  can  maintain  his 
government  in  ollice  for  four  years,  and  this  has  been  done  for 
long  periods  in  o])position  to  a  majority  in  either,  or  both  houses. 
In  regard  to  patronage  he  exercises  a  power  which  no  Euro- 
pean monarch  has  ever  aspired  to.  On  the  accession  of  the 
President  of  another  party  l»e  at  once  claims  tlie  whole  of  the 
government  oflices  as  spoils  of  victory,  and  piocceds  to  dismiss 
and  replace  not  only  the  former  ministry  but  all  the  subordi- 
nates, the  nunisters  to  foreign  courts,  the  consuls,  the  custonv- 
house  olficers,  the  village  postmasters.  All  these  are  regarded 
not  aa servants  of  the  commonwealth,  but  as  the  minions  of  a 
vancpiished  foe.  The  same  princi|)le  hoMs  as  in  his  own  elec- 
tion— it  is  not  the  country  that  is  to  be  thought  ot',  but  the 
party.  They  have  calculated  on  these  offices,  their  exertions 
have  been  stinndated  by  the  prospect  of  them,  and  they  cannot 
now  be  disappointed.  This  practice  of  necessity  creates  two 
entire  sets  of  officials — a  set  in  place  and  another  set  displaced. 
Numbers  of  those  ejected  and  thus  dejM'ived  of  a  liiy.']ihood  be- 
come professional  politicians,  and  inflamed  by  the  zeal  their 
position  creates  imparl  that  passionate  heat  to  American  politics 
s^o  frecpiently  commented  on  by  travellers.  Fitness  for  the 
office  being  disregarded  in  the  highest  station  can  hardly  give 
much  concern  in  lower  ones;  and  hence  we  see  persons  ap- 
pointed to  offic'es  for  which  they  are  manifestly  unsuited.  In 
any  other  country  the  whole  machinery  of  government  woulil 
be  clogged  and  become  unmanageable.  In  America  the  natural 
(juickness  and  peculiar  adaptability  to  circumstances  which  the 


24  TUE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

people  possess  enaljle  them  to  sustain  and  apparently  to  regard 
with  indifference  even  such  evils  as  these. 

It  would,  however,  be  a  great  error,  to  suppose  that  their  in- 
fluence although  endurable  will  not  be  widely  felt.  Where  the 
possession  of  minor  offices — of  subsistence  indeed — ^becomes  with 
large  classes  the  moving  impulse,  polities  cease  to  be  a  question 
of  opinion  and  degenerate  into  a  trade.  '  With  them  the  ques- 
tion will  not  be  their  country's  good,  but  what  is  needed  for 
their  own.  And  this  large  class  of  office-holders  out  of  place, 
with  no  other  occupation  than  to  struggle  for  return  to  it,  will 
naturally  devote  an  amount  of  time  to  political  pursuits  which 
the  well-employed,  respectable  classes  cannot  allot  to  them; 
they  will  bring  into  play  a  special  amount  of  individual  eager- 
ness; they  will  fill  the  seats  of  these  committees  which  exercise 
the  power  nominally  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  Men  of 
wealth,  of  commercial  standing,  of  literary  tastes,  are  outrun  by 
such  eageV  rivals;  and  we  find  thein  as  a  rule  not  only  indifier- 
ent  to  politics,  but  avoiding  them  altogether  in  despair. 

And  this  tendency  to  convert  the  pursuit  of  politics  into  a 
profession  is  largely  strengthened  by  another  cause — the  pay- 
ment of  members  of  the  legislature.  This  calls  into  existence  a 
class  of  persons  who  openly  make  legislation  their  business,  and 
live  upon  the  income  it  provides.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  theo- 
retically that  we  are  as  much  bound  to  pay  men  for  making 
laws  as  for  making  shoes.  But  experience  tells  us  that  the  two 
employments  require  different  classes  of  minds.  A  wide  ac- 
quaintance with  history,  with  jurisprudence,  with  social  econo- 
my, an  insight  into  the  whole  range  of  industrial  pursuits — these 
attainments  need  much  more  time  to  acquire  than  those  can 
allot  to  them  whose  time  is  their  bread.  As  a  rule  they  can 
only  be  acquired  when  the  possession  of  property  gives  the 
command  of  sufficient  leisure  for  the  purpose.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  turn  time  into  money  we  cannot  expect  that  much 
of  it  will  have  been  turned  into  legislative  knowledge.  It  is 
true,  indeed,  that  if  in  America  all  men  are  created  equal,  they 
may  be  equally  fitted  for  all  pursuits.  Once  granted  that  all 
men  are  alike  there  can  be  no  fear  of  putting  a  wrong  one  into 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  25 

any  place*  But  when  Mr.  JefFerson  announced  that  doctrine 
— which  he  excniphlied  by  holding  a  number  of  them  in  bond- 
age from  their  birth — he  did  not  assert  that  they  grew  up  of 
equal  poAvers  or  alike  in  knowledge;  and  very  ample  experience 
has  proved  that  laws  will  be  made  best  by  those  whom  previous 
study  and  habits  of  thought  have  trained  in  kindred  pursuits. 

And  while  in  the  United  States  the  payment  of  members  has 
created  a  class  who  make  law-giving  a  livelihood,  the  rate  of 
payment  is  below  the  present  standard  of  expenditure.  There 
will  therefore  be  those  who  have  to  make  up  this  deficiency. 
Hence  arises  the  well-known  institution  of  "  lobbying."  Dr. 
IMackay,  by  no  means  a  liostilc  witness,  observes :  "  No  onc^  who 
knows  anything  of  the  internal  working  of  American  politics 
will  deny  the  fact  that  such  members  (alluiling  to  those  who  live 
on  their  pay)  are  notoriously  and  avowedly  open  to  the  influ- 
ences of  what  is  called  'lobbying.'  And  how  is  it  to  be  expected 
that  a  needy  and  ambitious  lawyer,  without  practice,  having 
nothing  but  his  three  or  four  dollars  a  day,  and  upon  whose  sin- 
gle vote  the  fortunes  of  a  project  costing  millions  to  carry  into 
effect  maj-  absolutely  depend,  shall  iiot  be  open  to  the  influences 
of  those  who  lobby  him?  No  disquisition  on  the  morality  or 
propriety  of  such  a  state  of  things  is  necessary." 

The  lobbies  of  the  legislative  halls  are  filled  with  a  class  of 
men  called  agents,  whose  business  it  is  to  work  private  bills 
through  Congress,  or  public  bills,  in  which,  like  the  Morrill 
tariff,  private  interests  are  deeply  concerned,  by  means  of  influ- 
ence upon  members — or,  in  plain  terms,  by  some  form  of  cor- 
ruption. This  is  no  secret  matter,  for  indeed  secrecy  is  little 
known  in  American  affairs;  the  power  of  the  lobby  is  alluded  to 


*The  snmc  critic,  a  devotee  of  Tliomas  JeOfeisoii,  is  fireJ  with  indignation  at  an 
idea  originatinn;  in  liis  own  imagiiuitioii.  tliat  wo  have  described  Jefferson  as  an 
"upholder  of  slavery."  We  have  nevorallndcd  to  him  as  an  "upholder."  admirer, 
or  defertder  of  slavery ;  we  simply  advert  to  the  fact  th.at  ho  was  a  slave  owner. 
All  who  have  studied  these  suhjects  know  tli;\C  he  denounced  slavery  and  stigma- 
tized the  slave  trade— that  his  professions  were  li>ud  on  the  subject.  To  the  fact 
correctly  stated  in  the  text  we  will  add  that  he  CDHtinned  a  slave-owner  in  the 
face  of  these  his  own  professions  unJ  the  avowed  ilictaies  of  his  own  conscience. 
We  had  iio  reason  to  mention  this,  and  whether  or  not  it  should  add  to  respect  for 
hlii  character  the  reader  must  judge  and  Uis  admirer  may  consider. 

3 


26  THE    AMEKICAN    UNION. 

in  every  debate.  In  referring  to  the  political  corruption  that 
exists,  there  is  the  following  sentence  in  the  Chicago  manifesto — ■ 
the  creed  of  the  Northern  party :  "  The  people  justly  view  with 
alarm  the  reckless  extravagance  which  pervades  every  depart- 
ment of  the  Federal  government ;  a  return  to  rigid  economy 
and  accountability  is  indispensable  to  arrest  the  systematic  plun- 
der of  the  public  treasury  by  favored  partisans,  while  the  recent 
startling  developments  of  frauds  and  corruption  at  the  Federal 
metropolis  show  that  an  entire  change  of  administration  is  im- 
peratively demanded." 

We  think  they  show  more  than  this — they  show  a  state  of  dis- 
ease that  needs  stronger  remedy  than  a  change  of  physicians. 
They  show  that  the  whole  system  is  unsound  which  produces 
such  results.  The  other  political  party,  upon  whom  the  blame  is 
cast,  make  no  attempt  to  dispute  the  facts.  They  admit  them, 
but  trace  their  source  to  the  protective  system,  which  brings 
into  the  public  treasury  a  larger  amount  of  money  than  the 
government  can  expend  in  any  pure  manner.  Thus  we  have 
both  the  great  parties  in  entire  accordance  as  to  the  fact  of  the 
existing  political  corruption.  Who  will  dispute  such  competent 
authorities  V  And  if  forced  to  admit  such  facts  as  these,  they 
must  exercise  no  light  weight  when  we  are  employed  in  forming 
a  judgment  of  these  institutions.  Had  our  own  government 
fallen  into  such  a  condition  we  should  assured!}-  be  more  inclined 
to  embark  in  a  struggle  to  end  than  to  maintain  it.* 

We  observed  that  the  Constitution  is  by  no  means  democratic. 


*  Regarding  the  existence  of  such  corruption  as  the  unhappy  result  of  a  luxurious 
peace  it  miglit  be  expected  tliat  nothing  of  the  kind  would  appear  when  the  North 
girded  on  its  sword,  impelled  hy  stern  patriotism  and  rigid  duty.  Strange  to  say, 
from  the  very  first  the  most  unblushing  corruption  has  characterized  the  Wiish- 
ington  government,  nor  is  there  probably  on  record  anj'thing  of  this  kind  that  can 
be  compared  with  the  disclosures  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation  recently  ap- 
pointed by  Congress.  The  first  contract  made  by  the  government  was  one  of  the 
most  fraudulent  nature.  See  Mr.  Dawes  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  "Times,"' 
28th  J.annary,  18t!l.  Whoever  reads  thoughtfully  that  statement  of  the  condition 
of  the  North,  when  standing  apart  frcmi  all  contamination  with  slavery,  when 
claiming  to  be  impelled  by  lofty  motives,  will  find  it  difficult  to  remain  in  doubt 
whether  or  not  the  Union  has  been  baneful  to  tlie  moral  character  of  the  people. 
This  is  the  Union  which  the  North  is  struggling  to  maiutain  ■■  unchangeable  and 
unchanged." 


POLIXrCAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  27 

At  the  period  when  it  was  framed  the  rule  tliroujrhout  the  states 
was  a  property  qualifi<>ation.  Although  differing  in  the  nature 
and  amount  of  the  qualification,  there  was  no  state  without  one — 
practically  effective — and  there  was  no  thought  of  abandoning 
the  rule.  The  framers  of  the  Constitution,  so  far  from  desiring 
to  lower  or  to  level  this,  decided  to  leave  unchanged  the  diver- 
sity which  existed.  It  was  held  by  the  ablest  of  them  that 
variety  in  the  suffrage  would  provide  the  best  representation, 
and  afford  the  surest  prospect  of  that  system  of  check  and  mod- 
erating influence  bj'  one  interest  over  another  which  we  have 
seen  they  regarded  as  a  supreme  excellence  in  the  British  con- 
stitution. Here,  again,  we  shall  find  that  the  spirit  of  the 
founders  of  the  Republic  has  been  wideh^  departed  from,  and 
departed  from  in  this,  as  in  every  other  instance,  with  disastrous 
effect  to  the  country. 

Jefferson  took  no  part  in  framing  the  Constitution.  He  ex- 
pressed strong  though  guarded  disapproval  of  it.  He  was  in 
Paris  studying  and  imbibing  the  principles  then  coming  into 
play,  associating  with  the  members  of  the  future  Jacobin  club, 
cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  Thomas  Paine,  and  filling  his 
mind  with  theories,  many  of  them  springing  from  just  emotions, 
but  fatal  in  their  effects  from  their  tendency  to  excess,  and  from 
ignoring  human  nature.  There  he  studied  them  when  the  tem- 
ple of  infidelity  was  about  to  open  its  portals — in  the  purlieus  of 
brooding  socialism,  in  the  coming  shadow  of  the  guillotine.  And 
to  these  theories  he  clung  with  strange  infatuation,  long  after  he 
had  witnessed  their  result  in  sweeping  Christianity,  liberty,  and 
life  into  one  hideous  ruin.  Of  the  character  of  his  views  we 
may  judge  by  his  own  words.  Alluding  to  Shay's  rebellion,  he 
writes:  "God  forbid  we  should  ever  be  twenty  years  without 
such  a  rebellion.  Tlie  people  cannot  be  all  and  always  well- 
informed.  Tiie  part  which  is  wrong  will  be  discontented  in 
proportion  t6  the  importance  of-  the  facts  they  misconceived. 
If  they  remain  quiet  under  such  misconception  it  is  a  lethargy, 
the  forerunner  of  death  to  the  public  liberty.  What  signify  a 
few  lives  lost  in  a  century  or  two !  The  tree  of  liberty  must  be 
refreshed  from  time  to  time  with  the  blood  of  patriots  and 
tyrants.     It  is  its  natural  manure." 


28     .  THE    AMKRICAX    UNION. 

The  early  'spirit  of  temperate  re[)ubHcaiiism  (tliat  of  the 
fathers  of  the  country)  which  guided  its  councils  during  the 
terms  of  Washington  and  Adams  as  Presidents  was  followed 
and  subverted  by  this  spirit  of  extreme-  democracy  imported 
from  France.  JelFerson,  an<l  not  Washington,  has  been  the 
guide  of  the  country  for  the  last  fifty  years.  One  of  the  many 
results  of  this  change  which  we  shall  meet  with  has  been  the 
virtual  abandonment  of  all  qualifi:!alions  and  the  adoption  of 
universal  suffrage.  The  elTcct  of  this  has  been  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  the  large  proportion  of  foreigners  thus  placed  in  the 
command  of  political  power  without  either  training  or  associa- 
tion to  fit  them  for  it.  To  so  great  an  extent,  indeed,  has  this 
proceeded,  that  in  many  districts,  and  among  them  may  be 
classed  the  virtual  metropolis  of  the  country.  New  York,  the 
decisive  political  power  is  in  the  hands  of  those  of  foreign  birth. 
On  this  subject  of  the  suffrage  Chancellor  Kent,  one  of  the 
highest  of  American  authorities,  remarks  in  his  Commentaries: 
"  'I'he  progress  and  impulse  of  popular  opinion  is  rapidly  de- 
stroying every  constitutional  check,  every  conservative  element 
intended  by  the  sages  who  framed  the  earliest  American  Con- 
stitutions as  safeguards  against  the  abuses  of  popular  sulTrage." 

Tims  the  unqualified  suffrage  which  has  been  regarded  by 
some  in  this  country  as  an  American  institution  is  really  a  for- 
eign abuse,  unknown  to  its  Constitution,  opposed  to  the  spirit  of 
its  greatest  patriots,  and  deplored  by  the  ablest  of  its  jurists.  In , 
another  passage  bearing  on  similar  subjects  Chancellor  Kent 
observes :  "  Such  a  rapid  course  of  destruction  of  the  former 
constitutional  checks  is  matter  for  grave  reflection ;  and  to 
counteract  the  dangerous  tendency  of  such  combined  forces  as 
universal  suffrage,  frequent,  elections,  all  offices  for  short  periods, 
all  officers  elective,  and  an  unchecked  press,  and  to  prevent 
them  from  racking  and  destroying  our  political  machines,  the 
people  must  have  a  larger  share  than  usual  of"  that  wisdom 
which  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  en- 
treated." As  no  one  can  imagine  that  these  are  attributes  of 
American  character  at  the  present  day  it  would  seem  to  follow 
that  they  have  really  been  "racking  and  destroying"  the  polit- 
ical machine. 


POLITIC  \L    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  29 

We  have  sct'n  tliat  under  the  system  in  for(^'  ability  is  ex- 
cluded from  the  liifjhest  office  in  the  state;  there  is  another 
cause  whieh  very  largely  excludes  it  from  the  legislative  cham- 
bers. The  ministers  are  not  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Congress.  To  judge  of  the  effects  of  this  we  have 
only  to  imagine  the  result  of  excluding  the  whole  of  the  ministry 
from  the  House  of  Commons.  The  men  who  of  all  others  have 
access  to  the  sources  of  information,  who  are  thoroughly  conver- 
sant with  details,  and  who  possess  the  requisite  experience  and 
ability  to  guide  the  debates  of  the  assembly — tiiese  men  are  not 
to  come  within  its  walls.  And  this  deprivation  of  ability  is  a 
small  evil  when  compared  with  others  that  result.  Who  can 
put  a  question  to  a  minister  who  is  never  there  to  be  ques- 
tioned V  There  is  a  complete  absence  of  that  sharp  and  elToc- 
tive  responsibility  to  the  jieople,  through  their  representatives, 
which  we  should  hardly  like  to  exchange  for  a  system  of  secret 
^[^lanagement  of  the  House  by  parties  who  can  never  be  seen  face 
to  face.  Thus  no  minister  can  introduce  and  explain  his  own 
measure ;  he  must  do  so  second-hand.  He  cannot  be  made  to 
avow  his  own  opinions — no  responsibility  can  be  fixed  upon 
him.  He  must  work  the  business  of  the  government  through 
private  arrangements  with  members  of  the  House,  and  use  pat- 
ronage to  supply  the  place  of  ability  or  knowledge.  We  have 
some  impatience  of  the  very  idea  of  what  is  called  "back-stairs" 
influence,  and  what  shall  we  say  to  a  system  in  which  the  whole 
business  of  the  government  is  conducted  on  the  back-stairs 
principle,  and  where,  indeed,  there  can  be  no  other  ?  We 
should  expect  to  see  in  the  result  precisely  that  political  cor- 
ruption which  all  parties  in  the  United  States  admit  to  exist 
there. 

And  not  only  is  this  the  system  of  government  which  prevails 
there,  but  the  ministry  thus  connected  Avith  the  representatives 
of  the  people  through  the  influence  of  oflice  alone  can  retain 
their  power  so  long  as  they  agree  with  tlie  President  for  the 
four  years  of  his  tenure  of  office.  They  can  do  so  against  the 
will  of  the  whole  people  and  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  is 
quite  true  they  require  money;  this  must  be  voted,  and  this 
necessity  would  appear  to  give  an  cfl'ectual  controlling  power. 


30  THE    AMERfCAN     UNION. 

But  in  practice  it  has  no  such  result.  So  great  is  the  secret  in- 
fluence of  the  government  in  the  House  that  although  it  has 
sometimes  occurred  that  the  ministry  have  been  in  opposition  to 
a  majority  of  the  House  we  cannot  find  that  they  have  ever 
yet  failed  to  obtain  the  money  votes  required.  It  would  convey 
a  less  unsatisfactory  impression  of  the  system  if  they  had  failed. 
As  yet  tills  has  not  o;:curred,  and  there  is  no  such  thing  really 
known  to  the  American  system  as  ministerial  responsibility  to 
the  people.  While  with  us  the  people  possess  through  their 
representatives  an  ever-vigilant  power  over  the  government, 
which  they  can  put  into  operation  on  any  night  of  debate,  and 
do  constantly  exercise  —  there  is  in  America  no  more  real  prac- 
tical power  over  the  ministry  than  there  is  real  choice  in  the 
election  of  President.  It  would  seem  as  if  we  ourselves  were 
in  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  republican  institutions,  while  the 
people  of  the  United  States  content  themselves  with  the  theory, 
and  profession,  and  sound  of  them.  I 

Reviewing  the  preceding  fat'ts  we  certainly  find  much  that  is 
at  variance  witli  our  most  cherished  ideas  of  constitutional  gov- 
ernment. Either  after  five  hundred  years  experience  we  do 
not  understand  what  representative  institutions  ought  to  be,  or 
otherwise  these  stand  in  need  of  radical  reform.  They  explain, 
what  at  first  seems  incomprehensible,  such  a  (;ourse  of  legislation 
as  we  have  witnessed  during  the  pi'esent  crisis,  when,  if  ever, 
the  calm  wisdom  of  a  senate  was  required.  We  see  the  true 
spirit  of  the  Constitution  lost  or  perverted — the  nominal  power 
of  the  people  really  in  the  hands  of  trading  politicians — the  elec- 
toral college,  whose  olfice  is  selection,  deprived  of  the  function 
of  choice — the  ruler  of  the  state  so  appointed  as  to  bar  out  ex- 
perience and  talent — legislation  converted  into  a  livelihood,  and 
parliamentary  corruption  organized  into  a  profession — two  ar- 
mies of  place-holders,  one  besieging  and  the  other  besieged — 
ministerial  ability  and  knowledge  excluded  from  parliamentary 
discussion,  and  ministerial  responsibility  exchanged  for  govern- 
ment influence.  As  the  result  of  all  this  we  find  an  incessant 
decline  in  the  ability  at  the  head  of  the  state  and  in  the  charac- 
ter of  its  legislation  ;  and  in  spite  of  rare  material  advantages 
an  amount  of  embittered  discontent  which  has  at  length  culmi- 


POLITICAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNION.  31 

nated  in  civil  war.  We  have,  however,  as  yet  examined  but 
one  part  of  the  subject,  the  political  institutions  of  the  Union. 
Before  we  can  form  a  full  impression  of  the  value  of  the  Union 
itself  we  must  also  consider  its  effect  on  the  character  of  the 
people  in  their  social  or  public  life. 


Chapter   II. 

EFFECTS   OF   THE   UNION   ON   NATIONAL 
CHARACTER. 

The  Amerioan  of  tlie  mifldle  class  may  be  said  to  have  two 
distinct  characters.  In  private  life  a  most  agreeable  companion, 
full  of  general  information,  of  a  pleasant  temper,  fulfilling  all 
domestic  duties  in  an  exemplary  manner,  the  same  person  in 
public  life,  upon  American  topics,  will  become  at  once  arro- 
gant, quarrelsome,  full  of  wrong  impressions  as  to  much  of  the 
real  history  of  Irs  own  country,  unable  to  realize  the  motives 
that  actuate  the  policy  of  this  country.  Even  his  standard  of 
right  and  wrong  will  alter.  Perfectly  honorable  as  an  individ- 
ual he  will  be  prepared  as  a  Unionist  to  defend  any  principle, 
even  that  of  mere  spoliation  under  the  ^name  of  manifest  destiny, 
when  regarded  as  part  of  the  policy  of  the  Union.  There  is 
evidently  some  sinister  influence  which,  leaving  him  the  same  as 
a  man,  has  entirely  changed  his  sentiments  as  an  American. 

We  arc  not  now  alluding  to  (and  entirely  exclude  from  all 
our  observations)  that  small  number  of  men  of  letters,  ministers 
of  religion,  or  eminent  merchants  who  come  over  to  Europe, 
■with  whom  friendships  are  formed  which  are  based  on  esteem. 
Combining  European  sentiment  with  an  energy  peculiarly  their 
own.  and  possessing  views  enlarged  by  a  knowledge  of  the 
world,  these  are  in  every  resjiect  exceptions  to  the  mass,  and 
it  will  be  very  necessary  to  escape  from  impressions  produced 
by  their  acquaintance  if  we  are  to  form  a  correct  judgment  of 
those  who  are  the  political  power  in  the  United  States. 

Has  the  Union  exercised  any  influence  that  will  account  for 
this  difference  between  the  man  and  the  citizen  ?  The  imme- 
diate idea  which  it  awakens  in  the  mind  is  that  of  magnitude. 
Apart  from  it  the  states,  although  on  the  average  larger  than 
the  see*  ndary  kingdoms  of  Europe,  would  still  excite  no  wonder. 


KFFKCTS    ON    NATIONAL    CIIARACTKR.  3;> 

But  regarded  as  a  Union,  as  a  wliolc,  the  mind  beeomes  at  once 
impressed  and  filled  with  a  sense  of  eolossal  magnitude.  Natural 
features  of  the  country  tend  to  add  to  the  impression — the  enor- 
mous length  of  its  rivers,  the  vast  dimensions  of  its  lakes,  the 
interminable  expanse  of  the  prairie  —  all  surrounding  circum- 
stances combine  to  foster  the  idea,  until  at  length,  as  we  have 
observed,  magnitude  has  been  adopted  in  the  popular  mind  as 
the  suvimii7n  honuyn  —  mere  quantity  becoming  the  standard  of 
value  in  place  of  excellence  or  worth. 

If  this  be  the  ease,  we  shall  expect  to  find  as  natural  develop- 
ments of  this  change  from  the  original  standard  a  general  ten- 
dency to  amplification,  to  exaggeration,  to  an  ambitious  craving 
for  still  more  space,  and  to  an  arrogance  built  upon  the  pos- 
session already  of  so  much.  Few  will  deny  that  these  are 
characteristics  of  the  present  day,  or  that  the)'  have  grown  more 
prominent  year  by  year.  If  we  examine  the  manner  of  their 
growth,  we  think  they  may  be  clearly  traced  to  their  source  in 
the  magnitude  of  the  Union. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  history  of  the  United  S'tates  this 
principle  of  exaggeration  had  no  existence.  At  that  time  each 
man's  country  was  the  foimer  colony  in  Avhich  he  lived,  now 
transformed  into  the  state  of  which  he  had  become  a  citizen. 
His  views  were  bounded  by  a  horizon  within  moderate  dis- 
tance. It  never  entered  into  his  mind  to  threaten  all  the  rest  of 
the  world.  Throughout  the  documents  of  that  period  there 
runs  a  vein  of  calm,  good  sense — a  disposition  to  deal  with  facts 
temperately  and  truly,  as  they  really  existed.  The  age  of  dec- 
lamation had  not  yet  come. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Union  has  distorted  all  this.  The 
horizon  has  become  illimitable;  the  moderate  standard. has 
stretched  into  immeasurable  space.  Views  that  were  adapted 
to  the  dimensions  of  a  kingdom  have  expanded  to  those  of  a 
continent.  As  state  was  added  after  state,  the  growth  of  these 
views  became  more  rapid  and  indefinite,  until  it  seemed  impos- 
sible to  assume  any  dimensions  too  large  for  another  year  quite 
to  equal  in  reality.  It  became  a  habit  to  exaggerate  all  present 
things  to  keep  pace  with  a  future  so  constantly  expanding.  A 
statement   that   aiiieeil  with  the  facts  to-dav  Avould  be  behind 


34  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tliem  to-morrow ;  it  might  be  better  to  make  it  at  once  large 
enough  to  last.  Thus,  to  avoid  constant  inconvenience,  truth 
came  to  be  made  expansive.  This  spirit  of  exaggeration,  talcing 
at  times  the  form  of  a  very  quaint  and  original  humor,  is  then 
indeed  harmless  enough,  but  largely  incorpoi-ated,  as  it  has 
been,  into  the  very  essence  of  the  national  character,  its  effects 
could  not  fail  to  be  highly  prejudicial.  We  shall  find  it  pervad- 
ing not  only  statements  and  belief,  but  the  whole  tone  of  thought 
and  sentiment. 

Exaggeration  must  needs  be  a  departure  from  truth.  When 
an  exaggerated  standai'd  is  once  adopted  truth  must  be  altered 
up  to  it,  history  must  be  made  to  conform  witli  it.  A  great  domin- 
ion must  have  a  great  people,  and  a  great  people  must  have  a 
great  history;  and  if  there  be  no  such  iiistory  in  real  existence, 
it  must  be  made  great.  Hildreth,*  the  most  able  of  American 
histOT'ians,  thus  describes  the  cause  of  his  unpopularity:  "In 
dealing  with  our  revolutionary  annals  a  great  difficulty  had  to 
be  encountered  in  the  mythic,  heroic  character  above,  beyond, 
often  wliolly  apart  from  the  truth  of  history,  with  which,  in  the 
popular  idea,  the  fathers  and  founders  of  our  American  Republic 
have  been  invested.  American  literature  liaving  been  mainly  of 
the  rhetorical  cast,  and  the  Revolution  and  the  old  tinie  of  the 
forefathers  forming  standing  subjects  for  periodical  eulogies,  in 
which  every  new  orator  strives  to  outvie  liis  predecessors,  the 
true  history  of  those  times,  in  spite  of  ample  records,  illustrated 
by  the  labors  of  many  diligent  and  conscientious  inquirers,  has 
yet  been  almost  obliterated  by  declamation.s  which  confound  all 
discrimination  and  just  appreciation  in  one  confused  glare  of 
patriotic  eulogium." 

Here,  then,  we  find  it  the  established  practice  of  the  country, 
in  the  face  of  ample  records  of  the  facts,  wilfully  to  pervert  its 
own  history  iu  order  to  satisfy  this  desire  for  exaggeration.     It 

*  Mr.  Bancroft  has  recently  been  describeil  as  being  the  best'  historian  of  the 
United  States.  Up  to  the  present  time  Mr.  Bancroft  has  written  no  history  of  the 
United  States.  Ilis  worlt.  so  far  ;is  it  is  yet  published,  comes  down  only  to  tire 
Declaration  of  Indei)endence,  and  though  replete  with  research  and  talent  is  a 
historical  ronianee  in  substance,  in  sentiment,  and  in  style.  As  Dr.  Griswold  re- 
marks: "He  sufTirs  his  p:i3sion  to  instruct  his  reason.''  The  work  ends  where  the 
history  of  the  United  States  begins. 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  35 

is  not  easy  to  imagine  a  more  deplorable  spectacle  than  that  of 
a  people  thus  employed  in  self-deception,  receiving  their  knowl- 
edge and  forming  their  opinions  on  the  exaggerations  of  de- 
claimers,  each  striving  in  this  manner  to  "  outvie  his  predeces- 
sors" in  depatture  from  truth.  Miss  Martineau,  than  whom  no 
more  favorable  witness  could  be  found,  describes  one  of  these 
Fourth  of  July  orations  and  its  effect  on  her  own  mind.  The 
anniversary  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  saturnalia,  dedicated  to  the 
annual  worship  of  the  god  —  self.  Unaccountable  it  is,  indeed, 
how  respectable  n^en  can  be  found  who  will  descend  to  this  kind 
of  performance ;  or  how  a  people,  so  shrewd  in  other  respects, 
can  be  assailed  with  such  fulsome  flattery  without  detecting  its 
real  mockery. 

And  this  perversion  of  histoi-y  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
glorification  of  each  Fourth  of  July.  The  system  is  inoculated 
in  early  youth  with  the  virus  of  its  influence.  The  school-books 
of  the  boy  Iiave  been  formed  on  this  rule  of  exaggeration.  Poor 
ol<l  George  the  Third  is  painted  as  a  devouring  tyrant;  the  Ger- 
man troops  as  demons  iu  human  form;  every  petty  skirmish  is 
exalted  into  a  bai tie;  every  battle  into  a  victory  ;  even  defeats 
so  unquestionable  as  that  of  Bunker's  Mill,  are  made  to  wear  the 
color  of  a  triumph ;  the  part  of  France  is  made  as  small  as  ours 
was  described  in  laying  the  Atlantic  cable ;  every  citizen  but 
Arnold  shines  out  a  pure  patriot;  every  general  a  hero  —  the 
whole  is  a  triumphal  procession,  and  ends  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 

In  another  direction  taken  by  this  habit  there  remains  a  re- 
sult of  abiding  evil.  That  some  amount  of  ill-will  toward  Eng- 
land should  for  a  few  years  survive  angry  and  protracted  war- 
fare, this  was  to  be  e.\pected.  That  there  were  causes  of  com- 
plaint none  will  dispute.  But  by  a  wilful  system  of  magnifying 
these  causes,  of  airsiravatinn  every  source  of  discord,  of  exagger- 
ating  every  ground  of  complaint,  a  permanent  feeling  of  hatred 
toward  this  country  was  engendered  and  sustained.  Politicians 
arose  who  held  it  to  be  a  matter  of  policy  to  erect  a  sentiment 
of  nationality  on  the  basis  of  animosity  to  this  country.  With 
educated  men,  or  men  of  the  world,  this  has  long  passed  away ; 
but  such  is  not  the  case  with  the  great  substratum  of  society. 
Whatever    traditions   or   notions   ot    history   exist   among   the 


36  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Northern  agriculturalists — by  far  the  most  numerous  class  in  the 
country — these  are  interwoven  with  the  remembrance  of  bitter 
denunciations  of  the  oppression,  rapacity,  and  injustice  of  the 
old  country.  The  sentiment  thus  created  and  lurking  in  the 
system  leads  to  the  existence  of  a  school  of  politicians  who  from 
time  to  time  aim  at  popularity  by  pandering  to  it,  and  who 
make  use  of  it  as  an  instrument  for  attaining  their  own  ends. 

This  spirit  of  exaggeration,  thus  resulting  from  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  Union,  leads  naturally  to  the  boastfulness  and 
national  self-esteem  which  have  become  so  prominent.  Long 
ago  De  Tocqueville  observed  :  "  For  the  last  fifty  years  no  pains 
have  been  spared  to  convince  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  that  they  constitute  the  only  religious,  enlightened,  and 
free  people.  They  perceive  that  for  the  present  their  own 
democratic  institutions  succeed  while  those  of  other  countries 
fail ;  hence  they  conceive  an  overwhelming  opinion  of  their 
superiority,  and  they  are  not  very  remote  from  believing  them- 
selves to  belong  to  a  distinct  race  of  mankind."  Some  of  this  is 
certainly  the  simple  result  of  geographical  position.  Those  who 
are  remote  from  Europe  will  naturally  form  an  imperfect  idea  of 
the  strength  and  resources  of  the  great  powers.  To  the  citizen 
of  Illinois,  who  may  travel  for  a  thousand  miles  in  many  direc- 
tions without  reaching  the  limits  of  the  Union,  wlio  is  conscious 
of  iiis  own  strt  iigth  and  buoyant  in  his  own  prosperity,  it  will 
be  very  natural  to  believe  it  when  tauglit  that  he  belongs  to  the 
greatest  power  on  earth — victorious  by  land  and  sea,  heroic  and 
trium'phant — that  other  countries  are  but  specks  upon  the  map, 
and  in  much  the  same  relative  proportion  inferior  in  all  ele- 
ments of  grandeur.  The  erroneous  impressions  thus  naturally 
arising  are  converted  into  accepted  truths  by  the  books  pre- 
pared for  the  people  and  the  orations  poured  into  their  ears. 

In  Europe,  where  ignorance  is  abundant  enough,  it  is  at  any 
rate  mainly  passive.  But  in  America,  those  who  have  been 
thus  taught  and  harangued  are  the  active  power  in  the  state ; 
their  passions,  when  aroused,  are  irresistible;  their  will,  when 
expressed,  is  law.  We  shall  find  that  the  government  reflects 
less  the  views  of  the  well-informed  and  experienced  than  of  this 
crude,  wrongly-informed  mass.     Hence  we  find  in  its  action  a 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  37 

restless  ambition,  an  agfrrcssive,  quarrelsome  spirit,  an  entire 
disreijard  for  tlie  foelings  or  position  of  other  nations;  and  this 
so  continuous  and  invariable  that  the  very  name  of  the  United 
States  has  come  to  be  associated  in  the  mind  of  Europe  with 
demands  or  complaints,  with  an  expectation  of  painful  discus- 
sions, and  a  foreknowledge  that  much  will  have  to  be  conceded 
and  endured. 

It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  after  all  exaggeration  is  but  a 
blemish,  an  infirmity  of  no  serious  importance.  This  cannot  be 
when  its  inlluence  pervades  all  things,  and  extends  to  political 
belief  and  to  its  consequences.  Indeed,  all  know  that  it  will  turn 
almost  every  virtue  into  vice  —  economy  into  meanness,  liber- 
ality into  extravagance,  firmness  into  obstinacy,  self-reliance 
into  arrogance.  No  influence  in  private  life  is  more  certain  to 
result  in  the  loss  of  character  or  fortune,  and  the  same  rule 
holds  when  numbeM's  are  congregated  into  a  people.  The  jires- 
ent  calamitous  war  may  be  regarded  as  a  result  of  it.  In  reality 
nothing  more  really  beneficial  to  the  North  could  have  o  •<  urred 
•  than  the  event  which  might  stay  the  downward  course  of  its  in- 
stitutions— give  to  it  in  reality  the  self-government  which  had 
passed  into  other  hands,  and  amputate  a  limb  which  threatened 
mortification  to  the  whole  body.  But  the  proper  sense  of  na- 
tionality has  now  become  an  exaggerated  sentiment,  akin  to 
that  of  the  French  for  glory;  and  this  not  only  shut  out  percep- 
tion of  the  truth,  but  disdained  to  consider  any  question  of  con- 
stitutional rights — dismissed  every  thought  of  prudence,  every 
calculation  of  probabilities — and  swept  the  people  into  a  fratri- 
cidal war  in  which  victory  or  defeat  must  be  equally  disastrous. 
And  if  this  pernicious  intluence  be  traceable  to  the  Union,  to  its 
magnitude  and  incessant  growth,  it  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a 
most  serious  consideration  when  estimating  the  real  value  of  that 
Union  to  the  people. 

Another  prominent  feature  of  the  national  character  is  the 
excitability  which  has  increased  to  a  point  now  so  remarkable. 
To  the  influences  of  a  climate  intense  in  its  extremes  this  may 
be  attributed  in  some  degree,  but  the  incessant  elections  which 
the  Union  involves  have  greatly  contributed  to  promote  it. 
Even    in   this  slow  country  a  general   election   awakens  some 


38  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

excitement;  but  what  would  this  reach  amid  incessant  elec- 
tions, elections  for  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  for  two 
distinct  Parliaments,  elections  of  governors,  of  judges,  of  munic- 
ipal and  state  officers,  elections  in  the  state,  and  in  the  adjoin 
ing  states,  and  each  fourth  year  a  general  ruler  to  elect?  A 
system  such  as  this  is  calculated  to  quicken  any  people  into 
excitability  of  temperament. 

It  is  possible  that  some  of  this  effect  may  be  traceable  to  the 
admixture  of  races  in  the  Northern  states,  not  in  a  state  of  fusion 
as  with  us,  but  as  an  aggregation  of  individuals  of  differing  sen- 
timents, eager  political  competitors,  and  all  in  possession  of 
active  power.  But  the  chief  sources  of  the  peculiarity  seem  to 
be  the  passionate  zeal  of  the  professional  politicians  already 
described,  and  the  incessant  elections  which  afford  so  little  in- 
terval for  reflection  or  repose.  Excitability  of  this  kind,  as 
stimulating  to  energy  of  action,  for  a  time,  as  the  breathing  of 
oxyiren,  leaves  the  judgment  in  a  state  of  paralysis.  It  is  a  kind 
of  mental  intoxication  animating  for  the  hour  and  followed  by  a 
similar  craving  for  repetition.  Affecting  as  it  does  here  a  whole 
community,  numbers  quicken  its  action  and  give  to  it  ^le  most 
dangerous  political  consequences. 

This  impulsive  excitauility  has  become  a  marked  character- 
istic of  the  politicians  of  New  York.  They  seem  to  think  that 
all  things  should  be  done  right-off — that  reflection,  decision, 
action,  should  be  instantaneous.  Man  appears  to  be  viewed  as 
a  kind  of  high-pressure  engine,  and  valued  by  the  quickness 
of  the  stroke.  All  seem  to  be  in  haste,  eager  for  powers  of 
steam,  for  swiftness  of  telegraphs.  This  tempestuous  energyj  as 
might  be  expected,  is  subject  to  periods  of  reaction.  There  are 
some  who  at  times  grow  weary  of  the  exertion  and  become 
morbid;  who  crave  for  fresh  stimulants,  and  keep  editors,  not  to 
incrccise  their  knowledge,  but  to  produce  "sensation  articles" 
and  help  them  to  the  next  excitement.  It  seems  an  incessant 
ball-room  life — wax  lights,  satin,  champagne — varied  with  head- 
ache and  reactions  of  grimy  depression,  commonly  called  panics. 
There  is  abundance  of  glitter  in  it,  and  at  times  a  great  deal  is 
quickly  done.  But  the  fable  tells  us  it  was  the  tortoise  that  won 
the  race,  not  the  hare;  and  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  this 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  39 

can  really  be  the  pathway  to  happiness.  It  cannot  be  disguised 
that  it  wears  a  hollow  check,  and  certainly  the  wisdom  that  Solo- 
mon taught  was  not  after  this  wise.  Nature,  indeed,  seems  to 
teach  what  man's  industry  should  be — action  with  alternations 
of  repose.  But  here  the  book  of  nature  seems  to  lie  unopened 
and  forgotten.  The  whole  is  a  life  of  one-sided  existence — the 
artificial  side.  There  is  no  crisp  hour  of  the  morning  sparkling 
with  dew,  when  we  step  with  elastic  tread  and  inhale  new 
strength  of  body  and  of  mind.  There  is  no  lingering  twilight 
when  to  forget  our  toils  and  glide  under  the  wing  of  peace. 
There  is  no  eddy  for  tlie  current  of  life  to  stay  its  swiftness  and 
renew  its  pure  lustre  to  flow  the  more  brightly  onward.  For 
all  this  there  seems  no  place ;  but  in  its  stead  a  restless,  spas- 
modic energy  that  quickens  indeed  some  poAvers  of  the  mind, 
but  dwarfs  the  rest,  and  destroys  that  even  balance  of  the  men- 
tal powers  which  (  onstitutes  the  facuhy  of  judgment. 

All  know  the  political  elfect  of  this  habit  of  impulsive  action 
in  the  troubled  history  of  France.  Unfortunately,  perhaps,  for 
the  liberties  of  the  country,  the  Union  has  now  a  Paris.  Who- 
ever has  studied  the  progress  of  the  momentous  events  now 
occuning  will  have  seen  that  the  Washington  government 
simply  Ibllows  the  impulse  of  the  people ;  indeed,  that  in  obedi- 
ence to  this  impulse  it  reversed  the  policy  at  the  first  wisely 
adopted.  But  the  people  of  the  North  in  their  turn  implicitly 
follow  the  lead  of  New  York.  AVhatever  decision  be  formed 
there  flies  over  the  land  by  telegraph,  and  is  adopted  before  the 
day  is  out.  Hence,  although  tiiis  excessive  excitability  is  not 
common  to  the  whole  country,  its  disastrous  effect  is  extended 
to  all.  And  the  policy  of  the  Union,  and  the  unhealthy  growtly 
stimulated  by  artificial  means,  have  produced  an  effect  that  adds 
seriously  to  the  evil.  The  metropolis  of  the  country  is  not  really 
American.  Its  population  is  largely  composed  of  foreigners  of 
all  nations,  and  the  type  of  manners  and  of  sentiment  is  essen- 
tially foreign  to  the  American  soil.  What  renders  this  fact  the 
more  remarkable  is  that  it  should  be  disregarded  by  those  whose 
words  are  full  of  a  passion  for  nationality. 

All  know  what  pure  democracy  means  in  France — the  despot- 
ism of  a  mob.     Unrestrained  power,  in  whatever  body  it  reside, 


40  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

whether  in  the  populace  or  in  individuals,  is  equally  despotic 
power.  It  is  true  that  so  long  as  the  people  are  all  agreed  there 
will  be  no  occasion  for  its  use;  or  when  they  are  divided  into 
parties' of  equal  strength  the  one  cannot  use  it  against  the  other. 
But  so  soon  as  there  exists  a  minority  on  any  important  question 
there  will  be  a  majority  of  greater  power;  and  in  the  Union 
this  majority  never  loses  the  opportunity  to  use  its  power  des- 
potically. Hence,  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  exist  in 
America  only  under  certain  limited  conditions  that  they  ap- 
proach no  question  on  which  the  majointj^  has  "  pronounced." 
On  this  subject  it  has  been  remarked,  "If  ever  liberty  be  lost  in 
America  it  will  be  owing  to  the  omnipotence  of  the  majority, 
which  will  have  reduced  the  minority  to  despair,  and  will  have 
forced  them  to  appeal  to  material  foi*ce.  We  shall  then  see 
anarchy,  but  it  will  come  as  the  consequence  of  despotism." 

All  are  familiar  with  the  operation  of  this  rule  in  the  South 
in  discussions  on  the  abolition  of  slavery  ;  and  precisely  the  same 
holds  in  the  North,  as  we  now  see,  on  this  subject  of  the  Union. 
What  more  painful  proof  of  this  could  be  given  than  the  fact 
of  a  man  being  recently  shot  dead  in  the  streets  of  New  York 
for  simply  exjiressing  opinions  that  were  common  to  the  whole 
country  a  few  weeks  before  —  a  murder  evidently  regarded  by 
the  public  as  an  act  of  vigorous  heroism.  This  despotic  rule  of 
the  majority  applies  to  all  matters  once  affected  by  the  delirium 
of  popular  excitement.  On  religious,  on  educational,  on  philo- 
sophical questions  there  is  unbounded  license,  because  there  is 
no  political  party  to  offend.  But  from  the  moment  that  a  ma- 
jority has  adopted  a  principle,  and  has  roused  itself  into  an 
.excitement  upon  it,  from  that  day  independent  judgment  ends, 
except  at  the  risk  of  being  hung  from  a  tree  or  shot  in  a  street. 
The  author  may  run  riot  on  any  theory  of  his  own,  but  once  let 
him  speak  the  truth,  in  however  temperate  and  earnest  a  man- 
ner, yet  so  that  it  grate  with  the  views  of  a  majority  —  and 
whether  his  name  be  Washington  Irving,  or  Cooper,  or  Hildreth, 
from  that  day  he  is  a  black  sheep  with  the  populace.  The  mo- 
ment the  present  majority  obtained  the  upper  hand  they  passed 
a  Morrill  taritf,  without  the  slightest  concern  for  othei'S,  and  in 
the  absence  of  the  minority  to  be  ruled  by  it.     The  effect,  in- 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  41 

deed,  of  Jefferson's  principles  of  despotism  vested  in-the  popu- 
lace lias  been  to  produce  an  utter  disregard  in  all  political 
affairs  of  that  great  injunction  "Do  unto  others  as  ye  would 
they  should  do  unto  you."  We  shall  find  as  we  pro:.'eed  that 
in  place  of  this  the  principle  of  American  politics  at  the  present 
day  is  —  do  what  suits  self  at  the  moment,  without  thought  of 
your  fellow-citizens  or  consideration  for  other  countries.  When- 
ever and  wherever  this  has  come  to  be  the  case  the  principle  of 
political  action  is  really  a  selfish  despotism,  whatever  be  its 
name  or  form. 

Tliat,  indeed,  the  true  sense  of  liberty  of  opinion  has  passed 
away  is  but  too  plainly  evidenced  in  what  is  now  occurring. 
When  a  people  look  on  with  acquiescence  while  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  is  treated  with  contempt,  while  the  police  forbid 
petitions  to  the  government,  in  violation  of  an  express  right  of 
the  Constitution  —  while  spies  and  eavesdroppers  are  taken  into 
pay — women  searched — legislators  imprisoned — property  confis- 
cated—  letters  broken  —  telegrams  seized  —  passports  ordered — 
while  the  oflices  of  the  press  are  gutted,  and  grand  juries  are 
urged  to  draw  up  presentments  of  those  who  diffiJi'  in  opinion  — 
when  all  this  occurs,  too,  not  in  presence  of  an  invasion,  threat- 
ening the  liberty  of  the  land,  but  simply  in  view  of  an  aggres- 
sive war  to  be  waged  at  a  distance  —  there  is  ample  evidence 
that  whatever  may  have  been  the  love  of  liberty  in  other  days, 
it  has  become  a  thing  of  the  past. 

During  the  Crimean  war  there  was  in  this  country  a  period  of 
great  national  anxiety,  of  sore  perplexity,  but  of  one  overpow- 
ering resolve  to  maintain  the  reputation  of  the  country.  In  the 
midst  of  this  there  existed  a  peace  party,  a  minute  minority  of 
able  and  earnest  men,  strongly  opposed  to  the  opinions  of  the 
vast  majority,  when  those  opinions  were  heightened  by  feelings 
the  most  intense.  Yet,  had  it  been  proposed  to  gag  those  writ- 
ers, to  indict  them  as  a  nuisance,  to  send  them  to  some  Bastile  — 
even  though  that  Bastile  should  strangely  bear  the  name  of 
Lafayette  —  all  know  that  every  man  would  have  come  forward, 
not  to  support  the  opinions  of  the  hour,  or  the  policy  of  the 
government,  or  the  success  of  the  war,  but  to  the  rescue  of 
those  great  principles — free-  thought  and  speech — which  we  hold 
4 


42  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

as  rights  too  solemn  to  be  played  with  by  the  humors  of  the 
hour.  If  the  leaders  of  that  party  were  now  in  the  United 
States,  and  beheld  the  fate  of  those  pursuing  there  a  similar 
course,  they  would  return  from  the  study  of  these  institutions 
on  the  spot  as  travellers  of  all  countries  have  ever  returned  — 
sadder  and  wiser  men. 

In  a  recent  publication  in  support  of  the  Union,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Channing  writes  thus  :  "But "this  conscience  had  been  deadened 
by  the  intoxicating  influence  of  worldly  prosperity  and  boastful 
pride  with  which  the  sudden  expansion  of  the  cotton  and  sugar 
■interests  had  drugged  the  commercial  classes.  The  slave  oli- 
garchy of  the  South,  and  the  capitalist  of  the  North,  the  great 
planters  and  the  great  manufacturers,  divided  as  they  were  on 
some  points  of  policy,  yet  brought  a  concerted  power  to  bear 
upon  public  opinion,  until  the  mean  law  of  mercenaries  took  full 
possession  of  political  parties.  The  moral  degradation  that  en- 
sued was  awful.  *  *  *  The  United  States  were  thus  pre- 
senting lo  Christendom  the  spectacle  of  a  nation  nobly  born, 
purely  bred,  rarely  privileged,  even  yet  in  its  youth  sinking  into 
decrepitude,  and  wasting  away  through  political  profligacy." 

Here  is  a  startling  description  of  the  real  eflects  of  the  Union, 
of  the  combination  of  North  and  Soutli,  working  out  indeed 
material  prosperity,  but  such  moral  effects  as  these  on  all  the 
higher  attributes  of  the  nation.  Let  full  allowance  be  made  for 
the  warmth  of  language,  and  the  excitement  of  feeling  apparent 
in  the  terms — let  them  be  reduced  to  the  narrowest  facts — still 
we  cannot  believe  that  one  of  the  highest  integrity,  bearing  a 
most  honored  name,  would  draw  such  descriptions  without  truth, 
without  reasonable  and  sufficient  foundation  for  them.  Such  a 
condition  of  affairs  is  so  difficult  to  realize  in  this  country  that 
it  becomes  necessary  to  weigh  the  facts  that  justify  such  a  pic- 
ture. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  Union,  as  stated  in  the  pi-eamble 
of  the  Constitution,  was  to  "promote  justice."  How  it  has  been 
promoted,  as  between  the  North  and  South,  we  shall  subse- 
quently examine.  At  present  let  us  see  its  effect  on  the  admin- 
istration of  justice  throughout  the  whole  country.  This,  indeed, 
is  one  of  the  truest  tests  of  any  form  of  government,  and  prob- 


EFFECTS    OX    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  43 

ably  nothing  affects  so  direc-tl y  the  health  of  political  society  as 
purity  in  tlie  a(lnlini^tration  of  justice.  It  is  indeed  in  the 
execution  of  laws  tliat  tlieir  excellence  practically  depends,  for 
they  are  seldom  inherently  bad;  they  never  inculcate  vice;  they 
become  bad  from  corrupt  or  ineffective  execution;  and  several 
of  the  most  ingenious  and  well-intended  constitutions  are  those 
that  have  most  completely  failed. 

It  was  desired  by  the  founders  of  the  Republic  that  the  judges 
should  occuj)y  a  position  of  dignity  and  independence.  The 
control  of  the  Federal  government  extends,  however,  only  to 
the  Supreme  court  and  its  branches,  the  position  of  which  has 
beiMi  maintained  to  this  day  under  the  terms  of  the  Constitution. 
The  judges  of  that  court  are  selected  by  the  President,  Avith  the 
approval  of  the  Senate,  virtually  for  life;  their  salaries  cannot 
be  diminished  during  tenure  of  office,  and  from  their  decisions 
there  is  no  appeal.  Thus  every  precaution  was  taken  by  tlie 
framers  of  the  Constitution  to  insure  the  independence  and  dig- 
nity worthy  of  so  high  an  office.  Placed  beyond  the  reach  of 
party  influence,  or  the  control  of  the  populace,  the  Supreme 
court  has  commanded  to  this  day  the  respect  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple. It  miglit  be  more  t;prrect  to  say  it  had  comman<led  this 
•respect  up  to  a  recent  date,  for  Mr.  Lincoln  lias  set  the  example 
of  questioning  the  force  of  its  decisions  when  adverse,  and  of 
treating  with  contempt  its  writ  of  habeas  corpus*  —  the  most 
cherished  of  all  the  safeguards  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race :  and 
this,  too,  when  issued  by  the  Chief  Justice  in  a  state  within 
the  Union.  And  this  court,  so  eminent  up  to  this  period,  has 
not  only  ctonnnanded  the  respect  of  the  people,  biit  has  been 
presided  over  by  men  whose  names  are  known  and  honored 
wherever  jurisprudence  has  been  studied. 

With  this  example  before  them,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Consti- 

*  It  hag  bocn  olispivod  tli.it  tlie  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  suspcndptl  in  Ireland 
durins;  tlie  last  disturl.anoo  there  as  if  this  w<'re  a  iiarallel  case.  That  was  done 
lawfully,  hy  act  of  Parliament,  not  as  a  stretch  of  despot ir  power.  No  legislative 
act  of  this  kinil  hnx  been  passed  hy  Congress.  The  8ui)renie  Court  issues  the  writ 
in  due  cour80  of  law,  and  the  government  of  Mr.  Lincoln  directs  its  officers  to 
tieat  it  w  ith  contempt.  The  difTeroiicu  between  the  two  cases  would  apjiear  sufB- 
clontly  obvious;  (he  one  a  legal  provision  against  expected  danger,  the  other  the 
lacic  derision  of  the  law  by  despotic  furce. 


44  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tution  as  a  guide,  it  might  have  been  expected  that  the  various 
states  would  follow  in  the  same  steps,  and  secure  the  same  ad- 
vantages. But  the  democratic,  which  has  supplanted  the  republi- 
can spirit,  and  which  aims  at  reducing  all  things  to  its  own  level, 
appears  to  have  regarded  even  the  judges  as  objects  of  jealousy 
and  distrust.  Throughout  the  states  there  has  been,  since  the 
Presidency  of  Jefferson,  a  constant  desire  to  lower  the  dignity 
of  justice  —  to  shackle  it  —  to  cheapen  it — 1(^  shorten  the  tenure 
of  the  office — to  bring  it  within  the  control  of  political  commit- 
tees, and  render  it  a  spoil  of  party  triumph.  In  succession  the 
states  have  abandoned  their  old  rule  of  electing  the  judges 
through  their  governments,  and  have  brought  them  under  the 
direct  sway  of  popular  election.  Some  of  the  states  have  re- 
duced their  salaries  below  the  usual  income  of  the  attorney,  and 
placed  these  salaries  at  the  hazard  of  an  annual  vote.  As  if 
election  in  the  first  instance  by  committees  had  not  given  suffi- 
cient control,  these  elections  are  now  for  short  periods,  to  render 
dependence  more  complete.  Had  it  been  the  object  to  reject 
the  teaching  of  the  Constitution,  and  to  tarnish  the  dignity  of 
justice,  no  more  effectual  means  could  have  been  taken. 

The  result  may  be  readily  anticipated.  Men  of  eminence  are 
not  likely  to  relinquish  their  position  at  the  bar  in  order  to 
bring  themselves  under  such  servitude,  and  to  accept  an  inade- 
quate salary  precarious  in  its  tenure.  Men  of  learning,  of  re- 
served habits,  and  independence  of  mind  —  those  whom  other 
people  desire  should  occupy  the  seat  of  justice  —  are  ill-suited, 
and  little  inclined  to  frequent  the  lobbies  of  electioneering  com- 
mittee rooms.  It  follows  that  the  highest  offices  in  the  law  are 
filled  in  the  courts  of  the  states  by  an  inferior  class  of  men. 
And  when  the  judges  are  treated  with  so  little  regard  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  there  will  exist  any  great  reverence  for 
justice. 

There  is  indeed  a  remarkable  irreverence  for  justice,  which 
seems  to  pervade  all  classes  of  society.  On  common  occasions 
law  and  order  are  maintained  as  in  other  countries ;  but  there 
exists  a  general  belief  throughout  the  popular  mind  that  when- 
ever so  disposed  the  people  can  discard  the  law  with  impunity. 
This  belief  creates  a  disrespect  for  courts  of  justice  and  for  the 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  45 

sanctity  of  law  to  which  there  seems  no  exception.  Where 
shouM  we  trxpeot  greater  decorum  than  in  the  Senate,  amid  the 
"  patres  conscript! "  of  tife  Republic  ?  Yet  there,  but  three 
yeaf^Rgo,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  assaulted 
a  senator  when  seated  at  his  official  desk  and  so  assailed  him  as 
to  endanger  lire.*  Unquestionably,  very  bitter  provocation  had 
been  given,  but  the  facts  are  proof  of  the  existing  indifference 
to  legal  restraints.  In  all  countries  outrages  occur,  and  in  some 
there  are  influences  that  lead  them  to  take  a  peculiar  direction  ; 
but  they  are  punished  by  the  law  and  denounced  by  public 
opinion.  In  this  case  there  was  a  merely  nominal  fine  and  the 
assailant  was  immediately  elevated  into  a  hero.  It  was  held  to 
be  permissible  thus  to  attack  an  unarmed  man,  and  a  proof  of 
moral  courage  to  perpetrate  the  outrage  in  the  legislative  halls 
of  the  Republi(;.  On  another  recent  occasion,  and  again  in  the 
capital,  a  person  moving  in  good  society  committed  a  deliberate 
and  relentless  murder  in  the  open  day.  He  was  acquitted  by 
the  jury  because  the  provocation  was  intolerable — a  just  reason 
for  mitigating  a  sentence,  but  strange  ground  upon  which  to  give 
a  verdict.  All  this  might  deserve  little  notice,  but  the  man  was 
instantly  adopted  as  an  object  of  public  sympathy  and  admira- 
tion, greeted  with  enthusiastic  applause,  and  is  now  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  Northern  army. 

If  the  law  can  thus  be  broken  by  men  in  the  highest  position 
not  only  with  impunity  but  with  approval,  it  is  not  likely  to  be 


*  Tlie  description  of  this  outrage  was  given  in  the  earlier  editions  ns  in  this  coun- 
try it  is  {jonerall.v  understood  to  have  occurred.  A  senator  of  tlie  United  States 
lias  fiivorcd  us  with  a  more  accurate  version  of  the  facts.  It  appears  tliat  Mr. 
i?ninner  made  an  attack  on  Peuator  Uutler  of  the  most  scurrihius  and  p'-rscmal 
nature,  and  in  llie  course  of  it  made  use  of  language  repulsive  to  every  man,  and 
still  more  so  to  every  woman  in  the  Southern  states.  Mr.  Butler  beins  an  old,  in- 
firm man.  with  hair  white  as  snow,  his  nephew,  Mr.  Broidis  a  young  man,  hut 
sickly  and  feeble,  took  up  the  insult.  The  senators  had  dispersed,  with  the  ex- 
tion  of  two  or  three  who  lingered  in  the  chamber.  Mr.  Brooks  entered  with  a 
gutta-percha  cane  which  he  uximlly  carried,  and  requested  Mr.  Sumner,  a  tall  and 
athletic  man.  to  rise  and  defend  himstdf.  IIo  refused  to  do  so.  on  which  Mr. 
Brooks  proooedeil  to  horsewhip  him.  It  is  desirable  to  correct  tlie  erroneous  state- 
ment of  the  facts  current  in  this  countiy.  but  this  correction  of  lliem  leaves  llie 
argument  untouched.  It  does  not  turn  upon  tlie  details  of  the  case  but  upon  ihu 
fact  that  the  outrage  was  virtually  iia.sscd  over  by  the  law  ond  applauded  by  pub- 
lic opinion. 


46  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

held  in  greater  respect  in  the  lower  walks  of  life.  The  loafer, 
the  rowdy,  the  border  ruffian,  have  become  prominent  actors 
in  the  drama  of  American  life,  and  fliey  are  not  mere  excep- 
tional individuals,  few  in  number,  but  large  classes  of  se^fy. 
Each  of  them  has  equal  political  power  with  the  most  intelligent 
of  the  country,  and  is  a  copartner  in  that  sovereignty  of  the 
people  of  which  he  not  unfrequently  interprets  his  share  to 
consist  in  the  privilege  of  breaking  laws  at  his  sovereign  Avill. 
The  existence  of  this  class  leads  to  that  tendency  to  outrage 
which  no  other  country  has  ever  witnessed  in  equal  degree. 
Bowie-knives,  revolvers,  brass  knuckles,  the  barbarity  in  the 
South  of  using  slow  fire  as  a  means  of  executing  negroes,  when 
criminal;  in  the  North  the  frequent  abuse  of  human  nature  by 
captains  and  mates,  with  cruelty  that  draws  piteous  tears  from 
other  eyes  —  the.se  are  evidences  of  a  recklessness  of  law  whicdi 
seems  to  be  producing  equal  indifference  to  humanity.  In 
Canada  there  are  large  tracts  of  border  country,  and  Australia: 
is  not  wanting  in  the  coarsest  elements  of  population.  In 
neither  case  are  sucli  fcicts  to  be  met  with  ;  and  we  are  driven 
to  look  to  institutions  special  to  the  country  as  the  sources  of 
results  so  peculiar. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  the  individual  states  thought  proper  to 
degrade  their  officers  of  justice,  or  lower  their  suffrage,  or  to 
deviate,  as  they  have  done  in  many  directions,  from  the  Federal 
standard,  still  this  should  not  be  regarded  as  necessarily  charge- 
able to  the  Union.  But  these  are  results  of  that  Union — the 
evidence  by  which  it  must  be  judged.  Moreover,  we  shall  find 
that  the  political  alliance  which  has  given  the  supreme  power  to 
the  violent,  and  overwhelmed  the  moderate  party,  has  been  a 
direct  result  of  this  union  of  conflicting  interests. 

Again,  a  federal  government  is  inevitably  a  weak  govern- 
ment. The  circumstances  of  the  Union  have  aggravated  this 
inherent  weakness  by  excluding  the  presence  of  rival  or  com- 
petitor. Had  two  republics  existed  from  the  first,  each  would 
have  constrained  the  other  in  self-defence  to  maintain  a  really 
efficient  government.  In  place  of  this  there  has  been  an  entire 
absence  of  power,  or  control,  or  influence  over  the  people  in 
their  social  or  domestic  politics;  in  other  words,  in  all  matters 


EFFECTS    0\    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  47 

on  •nliicli  the  purit}-  and  licalth  of  the  body  politic  depend.  In 
these  respects  the  Federal  povernment  has  beheld  the  states 
diverging  more  and  more  widely  from  the  original  standard  — 
powerless  to  avert  it.  The  Union  excluded  effieieney  of  govern- 
ment when  it  excluded  all  competition  with  itself. 

Of  this  general  incfliciency  in  ailministration  there  is  a  strik- 
ing proof  in  Lynch  law.  An  oe(;nrrence  of  this  kind  on  some 
rare  occasion  would  invite  no  comment;  but  it  does  invite 
serious  reflection  to  find  it  tacitly  understood  throughout  the 
country  that  all  have  a  right  to  resort  to  it  when  they  consider 
the  occasion  to  require  it.  Punishment  is  hardly  attempted,  if 
at  all;  for  where  such  sentiments  exist  it  is  clear  that  no  jury 
will  convict.  Thus,  practically,  whenever  the  popular  will  may 
choose  to  take  the  law  info  its  own  hands  it  is  silently  permitted 
to  do  so.  This  practice  appears  to  be  the  more  prevalent  in  the 
South,  mainly  because  occasions  to  invite  it  are  much  more  rare 
in  the  North.  No  long  time,  has  elapsed  since  the  Erie  railway 
was  attacked  by  the  mayor  of  a  town  and  his  officials,  the  rails 
torn  lyi,  and  serious-  d.nmage  perpetrated,  as  a  mode  of  per- 
suading the  directors  to  make  another  station.  Nor  is  it  long 
since  some  of  the  people  of  New  York  interested  in  property  on 
Staten  Island  destroyed  the  hospital  there,  spreading  out  the 
patients  on  the  jrronnd.  It  was  desirable  to  them  that  it  should 
be  removed,  and  they  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  await  the 
slow  process  of  petition  or  arginnent. 

Another  proof  of  the  unhealthy  state  into  .which  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law  has  fallen  will  be  found  in  "  vigilance  com- 
mittees." When  the  rowdy  class  become  too  boistci'ous,  or  kill 
some  one  who  is  held  in  special  regard,  ])ul)lic  oj)inion,  which 
commonly  regards  them  as  a  rough  but  excusable  product  of  the 
soil,  becomes  indignant  and  rouses  itself  to  action.  I\Ien  of  .sub- 
stance, knowing  that  the  laws  arc  powerless,  ibrm  themselves 
into  a  vigilance  committee  and  make  a  resolute  assault  on  the 
strongholds  of  ruffianism.  They  are  always  successful,  and  for  a 
time  the  atmosphere  is  cleared.  Thus  the  interests  of  society 
have  to  be  vindicated  by  force  and  at  the  risk  of  life  because  the 
execution  of  the  laws  is  too  feeble  or  corrupt,  or  tiie  hordes 
of  criminals  are  too  powerful  to  be  dealt  with  in  any  other 
manner. 


48  THE    AMERICAN    UNION, 

It  would  appear,  indeed,  that  the  real  object  of  popular  re- 
spect in  the  United  States  is  not  law,  but  force.  Uncontrollable, 
force  in  the  people  —  despotic  force  in  party  —  unlicensed  force 
in  Lynch  law  —  indignant  force  in  vigilant  committees — ^daring 
force  in  individual  outrage — vigorous  force,  however  employed, 
at  once  awakens  latent  sympathy  or  commands  intuitive  respect. 
If  this  be  kept  in  view  it  will  ejiplain  occurrences- that  otherwise 
are  incomprehensible.  It  may  be  that  the  sentiment  grows  nat- 
urally out  of  the  theory  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  —  a 
power  there  can  be  nothing  to  control.  What,  indeed,  is  really 
the  basis  of  extreme  democracy  except  brute  force  ?  But  be  its 
origin  what  it  may,  there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  its  effect  on 
reverence  for  law,  or  its  danger  to  the  permanence  of  institu- 
tions. The  most  popular  of  Presidents  was  Jackson,  the  nearest 
impersonation  of  it.  Probably  the  most  popular  with  the  mass 
at  a  future  day  will  be  the  Louis  Napoleon  whom  universal  suf- 
frage will  eventually  produce,  and  this  without  the  apology  that 
exists  in  the  magic  of  that  name. 

It  may  be  argued  that  many  of  the  evils  referred  to  exist  only 
in  part  of  the  country,  and  that  we  should  not  permit  the  im- 
pressions they  create  to  be  applied  to  the  whole.  It  is,  indeed, 
one  of  the  difficulties  arising  from  the  magnitu(te  of  the  Union 
that  no  description  can  be  drawn  that  will  apply  justly  to  every 
part  of  it.  There  are  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  espe- 
cially New  England,  which  in  every  moral  attribute  will  com- 
pare advantageously  with  any  district  of  any  country  .in  Europe, 
and  perhaps  in  some  respects  may  not  be  equalled.  But  in 
judging. of  the  Union  as  a  whole  it  would  be  as. erroneous  to 
take  New  England  as  a  standard  as  to  take  Utah  with  its  detest- 
able practices  of  Mormonism.  It  is  a  great  copartnership,  in 
which  we  cannot  relieve  the  worthy  from  their  responsibility  lor 
the  acts  of  all.  The  only  means  of  forming  a  judgment  of  the 
Avhole  as  a  whole  is  by  searching  out  tho.se  sentiments  which, 
though  they  may  be  illustrated  by  local  occurrences,  appear  to 
pervade  the  great  mass  of  the  communit}',  and  more  especially 
that  portion  of  it  in  which  the  active  political  power  resides. 

An  American  writer  observes:  "Never  had  country  better 
laws  than  ours;  and  in  the  main,  at  any  rate,  the  judges  are 


EFFECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  49 

upriglit  and  correct ;  but  the  true  trouble  is  that  the  people  are 
corrupt.  The  maxim  of  'all 's  fair  in  politics,'  opcratinjf  upon  a 
population  relaxed  by  an  overwhehninjr  prosperity  and  cursed 
with  a  preternatural  sharpness,  has  debauched  the  morality  of 
the  whole  nation.  The  jury  system  was  devised  in  a  country 
where  the  people  Avere  less  fast  than  here.  It  was  founded  on 
the  theory  that  the  community  was  jiure.  That  the  basis  of  this 
theory  is  gone,  so  far  as  this  countr}-  is  concerned,  it  needs  no 
argument  from  us  to  urge.  So  long  as  the  rulers  only  of  a 
people  are  dishonest,  liberty  is  safe ;  but  what  is  to  become  of  a 
nation  the  people  of  which  are  corrupt  ?"  The  phrase  here 
used  and  generally  acted  upon  in  the  country,  "  all 's  fair  in 
politics,"  throws  a  light  on  what  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  evil 
of  the  Union — a  laxity  of  political  morals  that  pervades  public 
life.  We  have  observed  that  the  Unionist  has  two  different 
sets  of  principles :  those  which  guide  him  in  private  life  as  a 
man — precisely  the  same,  speaking  generally,  as  in  other  coun- 
tries—  and  those  which  the  same  person  will  adopt,  although 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  former,  when  embarked  in  public 
affairs. 

The  causes  of  this  may,  to  some  extent,  be  traced  to  the  com- 
plexities of  the  Union.  It  exists  upon  a  series  of  compromises, 
and  where,  as  in  this  case,  such  compromises  involve  great  moral 
questions  of  I'ight  and  wrong,  there  must  be  a  laxity  of  principle 
at  the  very  root  of  the  system.  This  has  been  greatly  increased 
by  the  political  necessities  of  the  Union.  The  Americans  of 
what  may  be  termed  the  respectable  class  are  divided,  as  in 
other  countries,  into  two  great  parties.  There  is  a  third,  the 
lower  class,  largely  composed  of  foreign  elements,  which  gives  a 
decisive  majority  to  either  of  the  two  with  which  it  may  unite. 
Hence  has  arisen  that  flattery  of  the  mob  so  humiliating  to  the 
dignity  of  public  men,  and  which  when  developed  in  legislation 
has  so  perverted  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  lowered  public 
opinion  from  its  original  standard.  The  politicians  of  the  South 
in  order,  as  we  shall  see,  to  maintain  their  position  against  the 
superior  numbers  of  the  North,  have  long  allied  themselves  with 
the  class  naturally  most  opposed  to  their  own  habits  and  views ; 
and  in  order  to  retain  the  political  power  thus  afforded  they 
5 


50  THE    AMERICAiN    UNION. 

li 
have  aided  in  that  levelling  course  of  state  legislation  of  which 

the  treatment  of  justice  is  evidence,  and  which  has  brought 
public  affairs  into  their  present  condition.  Political  necessities 
have  driven  the  aristocratic  into  a  combination  with  the  demo- 
cratic element,  and  this  junction  has  constantly  overwhelmed 
the  moderate  party.  There  has  been  a  competition,  not  to 
maintain  the  C'onstitution,  but  to  invest  with  power  and  obtain 
the  favor  and  support  of  those  whom  it  was  the  object  of  its 
framers  to  restrain. 

We  shall  trace  this  doctrine  of  "  all's  fair  in  politics"  through- 
out the  following  inquiries,  and  find  it  equally  applied  to  home 
or  foreign  politics.  It  appears  to  be  the  parent  of  "  manifest 
destiny,"  which  is  really  the  same  thing  as  the  doctrine  that 
might  makes  right.  Whatever  a  people  desire  to  have,  they 
have  only  to  hold  it  their  destiny  to  possess,  and  take  it.  On 
these  principles  there  can  -be  but  one  law  —  the  law  of  conven-. 
ience.*  Accordingly,  we  shall  hardly  find  a  principle  which 
has  not  been  accepted  or  denied  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the 
hour.  As  an  instance,  this  very  doctrine  of  secession,  as  we 
shall  find,  was  never  more  loudly  proclaimed,  when  it  suited  their 
convenience,  than  by  the  very  Northern  states  that  are  now  the 
most  violent  in  denouncing  it. 

This  laxity  of  political  pi'inciple,  of  which  the  germ  lies  in  the 
original  compromises  for  convenience'  sake,  we  have  already 
seen  in  full  operation  at  the  seat  of  the  central  government. 
With  the  state  governments  the  practice  of  repudiation  is  another 
development  of  it.  Unquestionably,  in  each  of  the  states  that 
has  repudiated  there  was  a  large  majority  of  men  thoroughly 
honorable  in  their  private  affairs ;  but  the  moment  the  question 
became  a  public  one,  they  passed  from  under  the  private  law  of 

*No  clearer  evidence  coukl  be  desired  of  the  ejfistence  of  tliis  law  of  political 
convenience  in  utter  disregard  of  principle  than  Mr.  Seward  has  himself  offered 
in  his  despatch  on  the  surrendering  of  the  Southern  commissioners.  In  it  he 
declares  that  "if  the  safety  of  the  XJnirn  required  the  detention  of  the  captured 
persons  it  would  be  the  right  and  duty  of  the  government  to  detain  them."  As  no 
one  can  imagine  that  what  is  termed  the  ''safety"  of  the  Union  could  depend  upon 
four  unarmed  men,  the  obvious  meaning  of  the  sentence  is  this,  that  it  was  con- 
venient to  give  them  up,  but  that  had  it  been  more  convenient  or  advantageous 
to  refuse,  then,  whether  right  or^wrong,^that  course  would  have  been  adopted. 


EPFECU'S    ON    NATIO.VAL    CHARACTER.  51 

honesty  to  obey  the,  political  law  of  convenience.  There  is 
nothing  to  prevent  a  state  compounding  with  its  creditors  in  a 
candid  manner  on  suflicient  grounds;  but  repudiation  has  not 
been  the  course  of  those  who  could  not,  but  of  those  who,  hav- 
ing the  means,  would  not  pay.  This  has  occnred  in  all  parts  of 
the  Union,  the  number  of  states  so  distinguished  being  equal  in 
the  two  sectioJis,  and  the  population  of  repudiators  by  far  the 
larger  in  the  North.  An<l  although  [Mississippi  offers  the  most 
bold  and  outrageous  case,  there  is  none  meaner  than  that  of  the 
great  Stale  of  Pennsylvania. 

A  feature  of  character  peculiarly  remarkable  in  the  North  is 
the  illogical  tone  of  mind  apparent  in  the  speeches  and  writings 
of  the  present  day.  Few-can  have  studied  the  progress  of  this 
contest  without  observing  with  surprise  that  in  evcFV  belief  en- 
tertained by  the  Northerner  "the  wish  is  father  to  the  thought." 
With  ardent  faith  he  anticipates  not  that  which  rcHection  and 
calculation  render  probable,  but  simply  that  which  he  desires. 
On  all  political  questions,  slaven%  tariffs,  Union,  his  mind  be- 
comes utterly  subservient  to  a  single  view  or  idea,  and  seems 
incapable  of  grasping  and  weighing  both  sides  of  the  subject. 
The  Abolitionist  never  considers  what  his  own  feelings  would  be 
had^he  been  born  a  slave-owner  if  addressed  as  a  "bloodhound," 
or  likened  to  "small-pox,"  or  whether  such  manner  of  argument 
would  have  turned  him  from  the  error  of  his  ways.  The  Uuion- 
ist,  contented  loudly  to  assert  that  he  can  subdue  the  South, 
never  stops  to  coi^sidcr  bow  it  will  be  done,  or  what  is  to  follow 
it  when  done,  lie  rejoices  at  .the  capture  of  a  sand-bank,  to 
hold  which  injures  himself  ten  times  as  much  as  his  opponent. 
He  glories  in  the  acquirement  of  little  islands,  without  consider- 
ing that  they  cost  him  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  they  are 
worth.  He  proclaims  borrowed  money  to  be  strength ;  nay, 
even  asserts  that  "the  wealth  of  a  country  is  in  the  ratio  of  its 
expenditure."  Throughout  the  history  of  this  contest  he  has 
cherished  a  series  of  the  most  palpable  delusions,  and  as  each 
explodes  supplies  its  place  with  a  new  one.  All  seem  to  be 
satisfied  if  words  agree  with  wishes,  and  are  framed  into  well- 
turned  sentences,  without  the  least  concern  whether  the  argu- 
ments be  sound  or  the  conclusions  logical. 


52  THE    AMERICAN    UiNION. 

The  democratic  principle  is  based  on  number  —  on  mere 
physical  power,  without  regard  to  property  or  intelligence ;  or, 
in  other  words,  without  restraint.  Tlie  same  principle,  that  of 
unrestrained  power  or  will  implanted  in  the  mind,  extinguishes 
all  impulse  to  weigh  adverse  views  or  respect  distasteful  opin- 
ions. The  thoughts  become  echoes  of  the  will  as  subservient  as 
are  the  limbs  to  volition.  Democracy  desires  to.  have  nothing 
above  it,  nothing  to  restrain  it,  none  to  obey,  none  to  revere ; 
and  so  the  democratic  mind  seeks  not,  but  avoids  to  temper 
and  moderate  opinions  by  the  restraining  influence  of  those  of 
others,  or  to  arrive  at  sound  conclusions  by  patient  labor  of 
weighing  and  balancing  adverse  views  against  its  own.  Hence 
arguments  so  fallacious,  deductions  so  inconsequential,  and  so 
remarkable*  an  absence  of  logical  power  as  the  Northerners 
have  offered  to  our  view.  Few  w.ill  have  failed  to' observe  the 
contrast  afforded  by  the  state  papers  and  political  literature  of 
the  South.  As  that  section  cannot  claim  any  superiority  of 
original  mental  power  we  caufiot  explain  the  marked  difference, 
except  by  the  fact  that  the  Southern  leaders  have  never  yielded 
themselves  up  to  the  democratic  influence  which  has  so  gener- 
ally deteriorated  the  Northern  mind  on  all  political  questions — a 
disastrous  result  of  the  institutions  of  the  Union  where  their 
influence  is  fully  experienced. 

Keflecting  on  all  these  facts,  we  shall  be  the' less  surprised  at 
the  description  given  of  the  social  state  of  the  Union  by  Mr. 
Cassius  M.  Clay,  in  his  address  to  the  people  of  Kentucky,  part 
of  which  runs  thus  :  "  A  general  demoralization  has  corrupted 
the  first  minds  of  the  nation  ;  its  hot  contagion  has  spread  among 
the  whole  people.  Licentiousness,  crime,  and  bitter  hate  infest 
us  at  home ;  repudiation  and  the  forcible  propagandism  of  sla- 
very are  arraying  against  us  a  world  in  arms.  I  appeal  to 
history,  to  reason,  to  nature,  and  to  conscience,  which  neither 
time,  nor  space,  nor  fear,  nor  hate,  nor  hope  of  reward,  nor 
crime,  nor  pride,  nor  selfishness,  can  utterly  silence.  Are  not 
these  things  true  ?" 

We  believe  that  in  the  main  they  are  true.  We  cannot  doubt 
the  earnestness  of  the  appeal.  But  when  the  same  Mr.  Cassius 
M.  Clay  calls  upon  us  to  give  our  moral  support  to  the  Union  we 


EFFKCTS    ON    NATIONAL    CIIARACTKR.  53 

think  there  must  be  somewhere  a  stange  dehision.  We  should 
say :  Invite  us  to  support  a  government  under  wiiich  you  sliow 
us  the  growth  of  purity  and  justiee  —  but  do  not  ask  us  to  sup- 
port a  system  whose  fruits  are  such  as  you  describe.  We  should 
say  that  secession  or  disruption  might  either  of  them  be  wel- 
comed if  they  afford  an  escape  from  evils  such  as  these.  It 
seems,  indeed,  time  to  arrest  this  degeneracy  of  a  race  "  nobly 
born  and  purely  bred."  Can  this  be  done  by  restoring  the 
Union  ?  Slavery  will  not  be  extinguished  by  nestling  it  again 
under  the  wing  of  the  American  Eagle.  Strength  will  not  be 
imparted  to  the  government  by  restoring  the  conflicting  ele- 
ments that  made  it  weak.  The  vicious  effects  of  wide  dispersion 
will  not  be  effaced  by  reinstating  the  magnitude  of  the  country. 
Nor  is  it  likely  that  the  "  bitter  hate  "  of  which  we  read  will  be 
smoothed  into  affection  by  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

If  we,  also,  should  appeal  to  "  history,  to  reason,  and  to  con- 
science," they  would  declare-  it  to  be  essential  to  the  true  wel- 
fare of  the  American  people,  both  of  the  North  and  South,  to 
escape  from  this  unsound  condition — to  abandon  this  principle  of 
compromi.-^c — to  end  this  system  of  aggregation — to  Ibriii  sepa- 
rate conununitics,  each  able  to  frame  laws  adapted  to  its  posi- 
tion, and  permitting  self-respect  —  to  seize  this  oppoi'tunity  to 
cure  the  evils  which  uncheckered  prosperity  and  stimulated 
growth  have  engendered — and  at  length  to  realize  and  manifest 
that  there  are  other  and  perhaps  nobler  objects  of  ambition 
than  enormous  growth  of  cotton  or  the  possession  of  illimitable 
provinces. 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  Justice  Story's  admirable 
Commentaries:  "  The  fate  of  other  republics  —  their  rise,  their 
progress,  their  decline,  and  their  fall — are  written  but  too  legi- 
bly on  the  pages  of  history,  if,  indeed,  they  were  not  continually 
before  us  in  the  startling  fragments  of  their  ruins.  They  have 
pcrislied,  and  ])erished  by  their  own  hands.  Pros])erity  has 
enervated  them,  corruption  has  debased  them,  and  a  venal  popu- 
lace has  consummated  tiieir  destruction.  Tliey  have  listened  to 
the  fawninsi  sycophant,  and  the  base  calumniator  of  the  wise 
and  the  good.  Tliey  have  reverenced  power  more  in  its  high 
abuses  and  siunmarv  movements  than  in  its  calm  and  constitu- 


64  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tional  energy,  when  It  dispensed  blessings  with  an  unseen  and 
liberal  hand.  Patronage  and  party,  the  triumph  of  a  leader, 
and  the  discontents  of  a  day  have  outweighed  all  solid  principles 
of  government.  Republics  are  created  by  the  virtue,  public 
spirit,  and  intelligence  of  the  citizens.  They  fall  when  the  wise 
are  banished  from  the  public  councils  because  they  dare  to  be 
honest,  and  the  profligate  are  rewarded  because  they  flatter  the 
people  in  order  to  betray  them." 

How  forcibly  these  eloquent  words  apply  to  the  facts  we  have 
passed  in  review !  How  plain  for  whom  the  picture  was  intend- 
ed !  And  those  earnest  men  in  this  country  who  from  a  I'emote 
distance  admire  or  profess  to  admire  American  institutions  —  do 
they  believe  themselves  more  competent  to  judge  of  them  — 
better  versed  in  their  details — more  accurately  informed  of  their 
results — than  such  men  as  Justice  Story,  or  Chancellor  Kent, 
the  most  profound  of  American  minds,  whose  eloquent  words  are 
addressed  to  reason,  not  to  passion,  and  whose  prophetic  wisdom 
is  verified  before  us  this  day  ?  We  have  seen  the  "  wise  ban- 
ished from  the  councils" — we  have  witnessed  the  reverence  for 
power  in  its  "summary  movements" — we  have  recognized  those 
"  who  flatter  the  people  in  order  to  betray  them"— and  we  have 
now  befor«  us  the  fall  of  the  Republic,  even  as  they  predicted 
that  this  would  be  the  sure  result. 

We"  have  seen  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is 
not  democratic ;  that  it  entirely  discards  the  most  essential  fea- 
tures of  democracy ;  and  that  its  cardinal  principle  is  modera- 
tion. This  the  politicians  of  the  Union  have  spurned,  and  the 
main  influence  that  now  pervades  all  American  aflairs  is  that 
directly  opposed  to  it,  tliat  of  all  the  most  baneful  in  politics  — 
excess.  An  American  of  great  experience  and  judgment  ex- 
pressed once  in  our  hearing  a  fervent  hope  that  this  country 
would  never  follow  the  example.  We  have  now  before  us,  and 
that  legibly — in  handwriting  upon  the  wall  —  the  results  of  this 
principle  of  excess — of  liberty  swollen' into  unbounded  license — 
of  personal  independence  exaggerated  into  worship  of  self — of 
power  extending  to  number  instead  of  abiding  with  intelligence 
—  and  Ave  witness  the  result  of  placing  in  the  government  of 
empires  the  extravagance  of  theorists  and  the  excitement  of  de- 


EFFECTS   ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  55 

claimers  instead  of  the  calm  and  measured  judgment  of  expe- 
rienced men. 

In  this  country  tlie  working  classes  have  many  excellent  qual- 
ities— industry,  natural  generosity,  a  love  of  fair  play — a  manly 
spirit.     Yet  we  know  what  manner  of  political  institutions  they 
frame  for  themselves  when  they  have  the  power.     Let  any  one 
study  the  physiology  of  a  strike — the  artful  cunning  of  the  dema- 
gogue that  dupes  the  victims — the  tyranny  they  seek  to  exercise 
over  the  minority  who  desire  to  work — the  ignorance  of  the  true 
laws  of  political  economy  —  the  lurking  desire  to  supplement  in- 
clination with  force.    To  place  power  in  their  hands  if  they  desire 
it  is  to  place  a  knife  in  tiie  hands  of  a  child.     Undoubtedly,  the 
end  of  government  is  happiness.    Would  they,  or  their  wives,  or 
their  children,  be  likely  to  command  more  real  happiness  if  the 
affairs  of  the  empire  were  guided  on  the  political  principles  by 
which  they  attempt  to  regulate  their  own  V     First  give  them  in- 
telligence that  they  may  know  how  to  employ  that  power  wisely 
— then  rejoice  to  see  it  in  their  possession.     Before  that  it  would 
be  a  gift  to  none  more  disastrous  than  themselves.     In  America 
it  is  true  that  the  populace  have  a  far  wider  intelligence;  they 
have  much  more  cleverness;  they  are  possessed  of  what  we  see 
one  of  their  writers  has  termed  "  a  preternatural  sharpness." 
But  underneath  all  this  there  is  ])robalily  no  more  real  wisdom, 
no  greater  amount  of  sound  judgment.     It  is  rather  the   pre- 
cocity of  the  child  than  the  wisdom  of  the  mnn.      And  if  we 
reflect  upon  the  principles  developed  in  a  strike,  we  shall  trace 
lineaments  of  the  same  portrait  in  American  politics;  we  shall 
find,  indeed,  a  very  striking  reseml)lance.    There  is  the  same  in- 
fluence of  "  sycophants,"  the  same  impatience  of  opposite  opinion, 
the  same  contempt  of  economic  laws,  the  same  lurking  desire  to 
resort  to  the  persuasion  of  force.* 

*  It  has  been  compl.-iined  that  a  picture  is  ih-iiwn  of  tlie  ••  hiilf-odncated"  class 
in  the  UniteJ  States  and  presenled  as  a  representation  of  tlie  people.  Now  in  sev- 
eral passsRes.  as  at  p.^fres  3'2  and  48,  the  reader  is  warned  that  the  traits  of  char- 
acter delineated  do  not  apply  to  the  wh<'le  commnnity  or  to  every  district.  That 
they  do  accurately  apply  to  th^tse  who  po^jsess  the  political  power  has  been  clearly 
proved  by  the  events  occurring  re,;Hntly  from  day  to  day.  There  is  hanlly  one  of 
the  grave  defects  depicted  which  has  not  received  a  forcible  illustration  within  the 
last  few  in  uitlis,  and  Ihi-i  n  )t  at  the  hinds  of  the  mib,  but  of  men  in  the  most  emi- 


56  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

We  conclude  that  these  institutions,  though  they  retain  the 
form,  have  no  longer  the  spirit  of  those  designed  by  the  fathers 
of  the  country.  They  no  longer  "insure  justice,"  secure  "do- 
mestic tranquillity,"  or  really  further  the  "pursuit  of  happiness." 
The  Union,  a  necessity  when  it  was  formed,  has  long  ceased  to 
be  necessary.  For  very  many  years  it  has  indeed  stimulated 
the  rate  of  progress,  but  underneath  that  superficial  prosperity 
has  been  working  out  that  "degeneracy"  and  "  demoralization" 
upon  which  we  have  read  the  testimony  of  the  most  eminent 
American  authorities.  If  these  are  its  results,  showing  that 
while  promoting  the  lower  it  has  debilitated  all  the  nobler  at- 
tributes of  national  life,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  it  has  en- 
tirely ceased  to  conduce  to  the  well-being  of  the  nation. 

It  may  be  thought  that  we  have  criticised  these  defects  with 
an  extreme  severity.  But  the  terms  we  have  used  are  temper- 
ate beside  those  of  the  American  authorities  quoted,  and  if  se- 
*verity  there  be,  it  extends  only  to  the  evil,  never  to  the  man. 
The  events  occurring  and  the  interests  at  stake  are  too  grave 
for  honeyed  words.  Our  language  is  plain-spoken ;  timidity,  sub- 
serviency, sycophancy,  are  words  foreign  to  our  native  tongue. 
Whoever  believes  in  the  existence  of  such  evils  as  we  have  de- 
scribed will  write  with  no  friendly,  but  with  a  perfidious  pen,  if 
he  attempts  to  gloss  them  over. 

What  desire,  indeed,  has  any  one  here  except  to  see  that  great 
country  the  home  of  a  really  great  people?  No  fortune  that 
can  betide  will  sever  the  link  of  relationship  to  ourselves.  Few 
feelings  lie  deeper  in  the  human  breast  than  love  of  kindred. 
None  desire  to  be  quite  alone  in  the  world.  Though  less  per- 
ceptible than  in  men  or  families,  its  influence  extends  to  nations. 


nent  political  position.  What  more  conclusive  proof  of  the  argument  at  page  4S, 
that  •'  vigorous  force,  however  employed,  at  once  awakens  latent  sympathy  or 
commands  intuitive  respect,"  than,  in  the  stoppage  of  the  "Trent"  and  the  ap- 
plause tl;at  instantly  followed  the  piratical  act  of  Captain  Wilkes?  It  would  but 
weary  the  reader  to  point  out  illustrations  of  each  of  the  other  positions,  for  they 
are  but  too  familiar  to  the  public.  Again,  are  the  plain  terms  we  have  employed 
induced  by  an  unwoithy  desire  to  give  pafn  or  by  an  earnest  desire  to  arouse  and 
to  benefit?  If  these  evils  have  no  existence  we  shall  rejoice  to  be  in  error:  if  as 
we  believe,  they  jiervade  the  country,  and  are  degrading  the  national  character, 
then  who  can  lift  too  loudly  a  warning  voice? 


EFBECTS    ON    NATIONAL    CHARACTER.  57 

They  who  assume  the  existence  on  our  part  of  a  covert  ill-will 
toward  America  reverse  the  real  impulse.  Did  that  spirit  really 
exist,  it  would  prompt  rather  to  conceal  than  to  expose  insidious 
dangers.  It  is  because  we  desire  to  see  them  kinsmen  whom  we 
can  respect — to  hold  them  not  merely  as  related  by  descent,  but 
in  the  warmer  relaj^ionship  of  manly  esteem  —  these  feelings 
prompt  us  to  deplore  the  evils  that  sunder  us  from  each  other, 
and  to  denounce  the  causes  that  are  widening  the  gulf  between 
us  year  by  year. 


Chapter    III. 

CAUSES   OF   THE  DISRUPTION  OF   THE   UNION.— 
BALANCE   OF   POWER. 

Having  examined  what  the  Union  has  really  become,  and  to 
what  extent  its  political  institutions  have  tended  to  increase  all 
those  original  elements  of  dissolution  which  exist  in  federal  gov- 
ernments, we  proceed  to  consider  the  immediate  causes  of  its 
disruption.  They  may  be  classed,  and  will  be  most  clearly  ex- 
amined, under  three  heads : 

First.  A  political  cause;  the  reversal  of  the  balance  of  power 
by  the  immigration  into  the  Northern  states. 

Secondly.  Embittered  feeling;  existing  originally,  but  ag- 
gravated by  the  continued  agitation  of  Northern  Aboli- 
tionists. 

Thirdly.  Endangered  interests ;  exposed  now  to  the  action 
of  the  Protectionist  party  on  their  accession  to  permanent 
power. 

No  one  will  presume  to  assign  the  exact  proportions  in  which 
these  causes  have  combined  to  produce  the  present  convulsion. 
Each  of  them  has  had  greater  weight  than  either  of  the  others 
with  some  particular  class  in  the  South,  but  all  have  contributed 
to  the  common  sentiment,  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any 
one  of  them,  alone,  would  have  sufficed  to  sever  the  Union.  In 
all  revolutions,  whatever  the  immediate  cause  of  the  catastrophe, 
it  will  be  found  that  there  has  been  a  long  train  of  accumulating 
causes,  gradually  sapping  the  foundations  of  loyalty  to  govern- 
ment, engendering  discontent,  or  arousing  -animosity,  and  piling 
up,  so  to  speak,  the  combustible  materials  wliich  any  accidental 
spark  might  kindle  into  a  flame. 

The  collisions  to  which  the  question  of  slavery  has  given  rise 
have  exercised  a  very  large  influence  in  producing  the  rupture; 


CAUSES    OP    niSRUI'TION    OF    THE    UNION.  51) 

but  slavery  has  not  been  its  prinnipal  cause,  for  it  has  never 
been  in  dispute;  an(],  indeed,  we  shall  find  that  many  of  the 
aggressive,  and  most  reprehensible  acts  of  the  South,  a])parently 
in  furtherance  of  the  spread  of  its  system,  have  really  been 
measures  of  political  defence.  They  have  not  had  the  exten- 
sion of  slaver}'  as  an  object  of  desire,  as  an  end,  but  simply  as  a 
means  by  which  to  maintain  its  political  position  in  face  of  the 
rapidly  increasing  population  of  the  Northern  power. 

If  there  be  any  one  motive  stronger  than  another  in  commu- 
nities wliich  have  largely  increased,  that  impulse  is  the  desire  of 
self-government.  When  once  aroused,  it  seems  impossible  to 
allay  it.  It  is  the  eager  and  irrepressible  desire  of  youth  to  as- 
sume" the  dignity  of  manhood  but  strengthened  and  inflamed,  as 
all  passions  are,  by  the  accumulative  influence  of  members.  No 
other  descri])tion  of  comfort,  or  profit,  or  luxury  will  satisfy  the 
craving  when  once  aroused.  There  cannot  be  a  more  striking 
proof  of  this  than  in  the  revolt  of  the  colonies  from  the  rule  of 
this  country.  There  was  no  real  hardship  —  no  actual  oppres- 
sion. It  was  not  the  true  object  of  that  revolt  to  escape  a  duty 
of  three  pence  per  pound  on  tea,  nor  yet  to  maintain  an  ab- 
stract principle  acted  ujion  in  no  part  of  America,  and  unrecog- 
nized in  most  parts  of  the  world.  Its  real  object  was  indepen- 
dence ;  its  aim  to  be  their  own  masters.  Curtis,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  Constitution,"  observes  :  "  It  was  a  war  begun  and  prose- 
cuted for  the  express  purpose  of  obtaining  and  securing  for  the 
people  who  undertook  it  the  right  of  self-government." 

The  strength  of  tliis  desire,  when  once  excited,  may  be  esti- 
mated by  the  obstacles  then  to  be  surmoiuited.  Tiiere  were 
bonds  to  be  broken  perhaps  more  binding  than  any  clauses  of  a 
written  compact.  There  were  the  links  of  a  conunon  history  of 
no  inglorious  memory  —  the  interwoven  ties  of  relationship  and 
ancestry  —  old  associations  of  habit,  of  thought,  of  sympathy — 
and  it  might  be,  some  trace,  however  faint,  of  the  reverence  of 
the  oflspring  for  the  parent.  The  England  of  George  the 
Third's  time,  whatever  its  faults,  was  Englaml.  It  was  not  in 
the  power  of  any  error  of  a  ministry,  or  inijiosition  of  a  tax,  or 
regulation  of  excise  to  obliterate  the  fact  that  to  her  tliey 
owed  existence.     All  of  them  alike  —  Puritan  of  Massachusetts, 


60  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Cavalier  of  Virginia,  Friend  of  Pennsylvania  —  had  gone  out 
from  that  same  home.  It  was  her  language  that  was  on  their 
lips;  it  was  her  law  that  guarded  their  rights;  her  example  had 
taught  them  liberty ;  the  fame  of  her  great  men  was  a  solemn 
inheritance,  descending  on  both  alike.  It  was  the  old  mother- 
land. Its  trees,  its  birds,  its  castles,  its  legends,  were  the  mind's 
'earliest  pictures.  Fancies  of  childhood,  dreams  of  youth,  memo- 
ries of  age,  all  wandered  there.  History  was  there  with  grand 
old  names,  and  scenes  of  stirring  deeds,  and  ancient  walls  once 
strong,  now  beautiful.  And  there,  too,  might  be  found  some 
village  spire  girdled  around  with  immemorial  yews  under  whose 
solemn  shade  were  stones  with  old  faint  lines  that,  Avhen  the 
moss  was  moved,  would  tell  them  where  their  own  forefathers 
sleep. 

The  England  of  those  times  was  not,  indeed,  what  it  now  is — 
far  less  enlightened  and  genial.  It  has  grown  still  older  and 
happier.  But  even  then  it  was  the  land  of  Hampden  and 
Sydney,  of  Shakspeare  and  Milton,  of  Bacon  and  Newton,  of 
Marlborough  and  Blake.  None  could  regard  it  as  a  parent  that 
any  distant  child  had  need  to  disown  or  to  acknowledge  reluc- 
tantly. Yet  all  these  claims,  appealing  with  mute  eloquence  to 
every  gentle  or  noble  impulse  of  duty  in  the  present  or  rever- 
ence for  the  past — unwritten,  indeed,  in  any  books  of  law,  but 
piercing  where  laws  cannot  i-each — all  were  at  once  discarded 
and  forgotten  to  appease  this  irresistible  desire  for  self-govern- 
ment. 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  strongest  of  all  restraining 
influences  are  powerless  to  withhold  a  people  when  once  aroused 
to  the  desire  of  independence.  But  why  should  the  Southern- 
ers seek  to  be  independent  of  a  government  apparently  their 
own,  or  to  separate  from  those  to  whom  they  are  not  even  under 
the  grating  burden  of  an  obligation  ?  In  reality  the  people  of 
the  North  and  South  form  distinct  and  rival  communities.  They 
are  indeed  mainly  of  the  same  extraction,  and  a  greater  uniform- 
ity of  appearance  and  dialect  exists  than  will  be  found  within 
the  comparatively  narrow  boundaries  of  this  country.  But  in 
temperament,  interests,  and  views  of  social  polity,  the  people  of 
the  South  are,  as  a  rule,  opposed  to  those  of  the  North  in  a 


CAUSES    OF   DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  61 

more  violent  antagonif<m  than  exists  between  any  two  nations  of 
Europe.  Our  own  animosity  to  France  was  traditional  and 
political ;  it  never  descended  to  the  dislike  of  the  individual 
Frenchman.  The  evidence  of  Mr.  Russell's  letters  to  the 
"Times"  displays  feelings  the  existence  of  which  has  long 
been  known  to  all  who  have  visited  the  Uuited  States.  It  is 
true  that  he  is  describing  the  extremes  of  the  case,  and  that  in 
some  portions  of  the  border  states  the  sentiment  tones  down  into 
neutrality;  but  as  a  rule,  the  original  antii)athy  between  Cava- 
lier and  Roundhead  has  remained  to  this  day. 

Indeed,  the  force  of  the  original  discordance  of  opinion  and 
sentiment  as  it  existed  in  the  mother  country  was  heighteftcd  in 
the  colonies  b}'  the  fact  that  those  who  emigrated  were  not  of 
the  average,  but  of  the  extremes  of  the  two  parties.  Tiie  Puri- 
tans who  went  forth  were  of  the  straitest  sect  of  their  persua- 
sion. There  was  nothing  in  the  days  of  our  civil  war  or  com- 
monwealth to  be  compared  with  the  stern  and  cruel  fanaticism 
of  the  early  records  of  New  England.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
majority  of  those  who  embarked  for  the  South  were  of  the 
loosest  members  of  the  other  faction.  Neither  the  moderate  Pu- 
ritans nor  the  prudent  members  of  the  opposite  party  had  any 
special  call,  desire,  or  necessity  to  expatriate  themselves. 

It  happened,  too,  that  the  accidental  choice  of  positions  in  the 
new  world  contributed  not  only  to  maintain,  but  even  to  in- 
crease the  original  diversity.  The  climate  and  productions  of 
the  two  regions  of  the  continent  are  so  ditlerent  that  had  all  the 
settlers  been  from  one  class  there  would  have  arisen  in  time  a 
marked  difference  of  sentiment.  Throughout  all  history  differ- 
ence of  latitude  has  been  accompanied  by  difference  of  tempera- 
ment, and  has  formed  the  natural  cause  of  the  division  of  men 
into  families — into  races,  the  limits  of  which  are  the  true  boun- 
daries of  political  geography.  In  this  instance  the  severe  cli- 
mate and  rugged  features  of  the  New  England  states  were 
calculated  to  strengthen  those  qualities  of  industry,  persever- 
ance, contempt  for  hardship,  and  energy  of  will  so  mai-ked  in 
the  original  stock.  Its  numerous  harbors  and  the  length  of 
coast  line  as  compared  with  its  surface  drew  them  to  maritime 
pursuits,    while    a   rocky   soil    afforded    no   time   for    idleness, 


62  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

nor  products  for  luxury.  Thus  every  element  conduced  to 
strengthen   the   original  features  of  masculine  character. 

In  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  a  warm  semi-tropical  cli- 
mate, an  unbounded  expanse  of  fertile  soil,  and  a  coast  for  the 
most  part  shallow  and  devoid  of  harbors  developed  characteris- 
tics exactly  the  reverse  —  in  a  proneness  rather  to  luxury  than 
to  labor,  a  marked  disinclination  to  nautical  pursuits,  and  event- 
ually in  a  system  of  slavery  Avhich  has  added  a  moral  antagonism 
to  other  distinctions.  Thus  all  circumstances  have  combined  to 
widen  the  original  divergence  —  to  render  the  Roundhead  more 
democratic  and  the  Cavalier  more  aristocratic ;  and  while  in  the 
mother-country  both  classes  Avere  insensibly  tempered  by  the 
influence  of  each  on  the  other,  by  the  mutual  reaction  resulting 
from  the  intercommunications  of  daily  life  —  they  were  here 
placed  widely  apart,  to  grow  up  exclusively  each  in  its  own 
image  and  likeness. 

There  is  a  consideration  which  renders  this  contrast  of  char- 
acter of  infinite  political  importance.  Did  it  exist  within  the 
ordinjiry  limits  of  a  kingdom,  its  effect  would  simply  be  to  pro- 
duce different  classes,  such  as  commonly  exist  in  all  countries. 
But  in  the  United  States  we  have  not  a  country  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  term.  They  cover  the  space  of  a  continent.  The 
slave-owning  states  themselves  are  thirty  times  the  size  of  the 
kingdom  of  Scotland.  It  has  been  remarked  by  an  acute  ob- 
server that  wherever  divisions  of  a  population  occupy  regions 
of  vast  extent,  they  cease  to  be  political  parties  or  classes  of  one 
community,  and  really  exist  in  the  condition  of  distinct  commu- 
nities or  nations.  Parties  in  a  kingdom  are  composed  of  men 
who  differing  on  some  point  of  opinion,  are  still  in  all  essentials 
alike.  Whig  or  Tory,  Orleanist  or  Legitimist  may  change  his 
opinion  of  his  free-will,  and  at  once  the  distinction  disappears. 
It  is  accidental,  not  organic. 

But  when  these  distinctions  are  geographical,  and  that  not  as 
applying  the  term  to  a  district,  but  to  regions  of  the  size  of 
great  empires,  and  embracing  a  wide  range  of  latitude,  they 
become  organic  —  incapable  of  change  at  will  as  matter  of  opin- 
ion— indelible  results  of  birth  and  association.  The  Southerners 
have  usually  been  in  the  closest  alliance  with  the  democracy  of 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  63 

the  North,  and  in  a  restricted  sense  they  were  of  the  same 
party.  With  different  objects,  and  looking  from  an  opposite 
point  of  view,  they  agreed  on  a  common  line  of  action.  But 
they  were  simply  allies,  fighting  imder  one  flag  for  a  given  ob- 
ject—  agreeing  upon  that  point,  l)ut  widely  differing  on  others. 
In  order  to  master  the  difllculties  of  American  politics,  it  will 
be  very  in^portant  to  realize  the  fact  that  we  have  to  consider 
not  the  action  of  rival  parties  or  opposing  interests  within  the 
limits  of  one  body  politic,  but  practically  that  of  two  distinct 
communities  or  peoples,  speaking  indeed  a  common  language 
and  united  by  a  federal  bond,  but  opposed  in  principles  and  in- 
terests, alienated  in  feeling,  and  jealous  rivals  in  the  pursuit  of 
political  power. 

The  Union  originally  cont>i>ted  of  thirteen  small  and  weak 
societies.  These  have  merged  into  two  great  and  jealous  con- 
fronting powers.  A  principle  of  elective  afhnity  has  resolved 
the  several  elements  into  two  bodies,  within  themselves  homo- 
geneous and  cohesive,  each  repellant  toward  the  other.  The 
Constitution  is  the  same,  but  the  condition  to  which  it  was 
adapted  is  entirely  changed  ;  and  the  machinery  ably  contrived 
to  suit  the  old  state  of  affairs  is  quite  inapplicable  now.  Origi- 
nally no  state  could  be  deemed  the  especial  rival  of  another,  nor 
Avas  there  any  (juestion  of  the  supremacy  of  one  over  the  rest. 
But  when  two  powers  are  face  to  face  the  question  of  supjvm- 
acy  must  arise,  and  arise  without  an  umpire.  It  is  not  in  the 
nature  of  things  that  they  should  be  precisely  equal,  and  they 
cannot  remain  in  political  union  except  on  the  condition  that 
one  be  subordinate  to  the  other. 

Up  to  the  present  period  the  Southern  interest  has  been  para- 
mount. Virginia,  the  "old  dominion,"  was  originally  in  all 
respects  the  leading  state.  In  wealth,  in  birth,  in  extent,  in  the 
value  of  their  products,  on  all  these  points  the  Southerners  had 
at  first  the  advantage.  In  political  ability  their  superiority  was 
still  more  striking.  They  supplied  the  statesmen  of  the  Union, 
and  Virginia  acquired  the  title  of  Mother  of  Presidents.  The 
capital  of  the  country  was  pLiced  upon  their  soil ;  the  father  of 
the  country  sleeps  in  it.  And  not  only  was  this  the  condition  of 
affairs  at  the  period  of  framing  tiro  first  Constitution,  but  so  far 


64  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

as  expectation  could  reach  into  the  future,  the  superiority  of 
the  South  was  likely  to  be  fully  maintained,  or  even  to  increase. 
Their  territories  beyond  the  AUeghanies,  the  vast  regions  in  the 
West  appertaining  to  Virginia  and  Georgia,  coupled  with  the 
greater  value  of  their  productions,  afforded  the  prospect  of 
growth  and  wealth  in  the  future  to  an  extent  beyond  any  prom- 
ise of  the  Northern  states.  In  their  position  as  slave-owners 
there  was  nothing  to  awaken  alarm,  for  that  system  though 
much  more  prevalent  in  the  South,  as  the  natural  result  of  its 
climate,  was  still  common  to  the  whole  country,  and  but  one  of 
the  thirteen  states,  Massachusetts,  was  entirely  free.  None  an- 
ticipated the  great  disruptive  force  that  now  convulses  the  coun- 
try ;  it  was  unknown  and  unforeseen.  A  Southern  state  first 
moved  in  the  formation  of  the  present  Constitution ;  and  those 
states  when  they  acceded  to  it  not  only  enjoyed  the  supremacy- 
which  naturally  attached  to  their  position,  but  Avere  safe  to  all 
appearance  from  the  reach  of  any  influence  that  could  under- 
mine it. 

From  its  earliest  days  the  progress  of  the  United  States  has 
been  less  that  of  growth  than  of  a  movement  of  the  people  of 
the  Old  world  across  to  the  New.  At  first  the  great  stream  of 
labor  reached  both  divisions  of  the  country  pretty  equally. 
That  of  the  South  -was  supplied  to  it  in  the  form  of  negroes  from 
Afeica ;  that  of  the  North  in  the  shape  of  free  emigrants  from 
Northern  Europe.  The  extinction  of  the  slave  trade  In  1808 
altered  this  rule.  It  stopped  this  mode  of  increase  to  the  popu- 
lation of  the  South  while  that  of  the  North  augmented  with 
accelerating  rapidity.  And  while  this  change  was  taking  place 
it  was  accompanied  by  another  which  gave  it  political  force. 
The  Northern  states  were  gradually  becoming  free.  Their  cli- 
mate in  winter  is  far  too  severe  to  permit  the  African  race  to 
thrive  there.  There, is  no  pursuit  in  which  their  labor  has  any 
advantage  over  that  of  the  white,  while  in  most  respects  it  is  far 
inferior;  and  as  the  supply  of  white  labor  increased  the  negro 
became  an  incumbrance. 

There  were  those  also  who  from  the  first  were  opposed  to 
slavery  on  moral  grounds.  The  spirit  of  their  religion  was  in- 
deed that  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  gives  the  records  of  ages 


CAUSES    OP    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UXION.  65 

in  which  slavery  existed  as  an  institution  common  to  all  nations. 
But  the  spirit  of  their  political  faith  was  directly  op[)Osed  to  it. 
Those  who  had  wrestled  with  every  hardsiiip,  disdained  every 
comfort,  and  triumphed  over  all  obstacles  in  pursuit  of  un- 
shackled freedom  were  not  the  class  of  men  to  look  with  indul- 
gence upon  any  form  of  bondage.  It  was  repugnant  to  the 
genius  of  the  race.  Moderate  men  disapproved,  zealous  men 
denounced  it.  Unquestionably,  the  removal  of  slavery  from  the 
North  was  in  the  main  an  economic  measurcj  and  would  have 
occurred  apart  from  all  moral  considerations.  Tlie  majority  of 
slaves  were  sold  to  the  South,  where  they  were  of  greater  value. 
But  still  at  an  early  period  there  were  the  germs  of  that 
Abolitionist  movement  which  has  since  exercised  so  powerful  an 
influence  on  the  destinies  of  the  Union,  not  from  the  numbers  in 
its  ranks,  but  from  their  ability  and  the  passionate  intensity  of 
their  zeal.  And  thus  at  the  same  time  that  the  North  was 
moving  from  its  original  equality  with  the  South  in  population, 
it  was  diverging  still  more  widely  in  social  views,  and  thus 
aggravating  the  permanent  effects  of  the  change. 

In  many  countries  a  process  so  slow,  and  exciting  so  little 
notice  as  the  growth  of  population,  might  have  proceeded  for  a 
long  period  without  attracting  observation.  When  observed  it 
might  have  been  accepted  as  an  inevitable  fact  of  no  political 
significance.  This  is  impossible  under  the  Constitution  and 
policy  of  the  United  States.  Increased  population  converts  a 
territory  into  a  new  state  claiming  admission;  and  it  must  be 
either  a  slave  state  or  free.  The  political  effect  of  emancipation 
in  the  Nortliern  states  was  still  greater.  Each  state  sends  to  the 
Senate  two  members,  and  this  change  in  its  condition  removed 
them  from  the  side  of  the  Southern  to  that  of  the  Northern 
interest,  thus  producing  the  effect  of  four  votes  on  a  division. 
In  so  small  an  assembly  this  had  tlie  utmost  political  importance. 
The  Southerner  saw  his  power  in  the  Senate  rapidl}'  passing 
away,  while  at  the  same  time  the  number  of  his  members  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  was  steadily  dwindling,  in  comparison 
with  that  of  the  North.  Nor  was  this  merely  comparative ;  it 
was  also  absolute,  in  consequence  of  the  changes  in  the  ratio, 
the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  required  to  return  a  repre- 
U 


66  THE    AMERICAN    lINlOiV. 

sentative.  This  was  at  first  33,000;  it  is  now  127,381.  Hence 
a  state,  though  increasing  in  population,  if  it  should  not  advance 
at  this  ratio,  will  appear  to  fall  behind.  Originally  Virginia  re- 
turned 10  members  to  G  from  New  York;  the  proportions  are 
now — Virginia  11  to  New  York  30.  But  this  is  not  all.  Vir- 
ginia had  at  one  time  23  members,  now  reduced  to  11,  although 
her  population  has  increased,  slowly  indeed,  but  steadily,  during 
the  period.  And  South  Carolina,  which  in  the  scheme  of  the 
Constitution  stands  for  5  in  65,  or  one-thirteenth  of  the  repre- 
sentation, will  return,  under  the  last  census,  4  out  of  233,  or 
one-sixtieth  part.  Hence  that  state  has  now  less  than  a  quarter 
of  the  representative  power  it  had  when  the  federal  compact 
was  framed— a  compact  entered  into  with  the  expectation  of 
advantage  from  it. 

It  must  be  at  all  times  a  source  of  pain  to  the  citizens  of  any 
state  to  see  its  political  importance  gradually  declining.  When 
it  results  from  natural  and  inevitable  causes  it  will  still  be 
fraught  with  regret.  But  when  a  state  is.  steadily  increasing  in 
population,  to  find  that  notwithstanding  this  its  political  power 
is  decaying,  both  relatively  and  absolutely  —  this  cannot  fail  to 
stir  up  some  impatience  in  the  spirit  of  a  proud  people.  There 
will  appear  an  insidious  principle  in  laws  that  pi-oduce  such  an 
effect.  No  construction  of  clauses  nor  views  of  general  con- 
venience will  alter  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  thing 
itself.  It  is  said  that  the  alteration  of  the  standard  was  neces- 
sary to  prevent  overcrowding;  but  the  House  of  Commons  has 
thrice  the  number  of  members.  It  will  be  said,  too,  that  the 
rule  applies  equally  to  all  the  states.  Theoretically,  this  is  true ; 
but  not  so  in  pi-actical  effect.  To  reduce  100  to  50  is  abstract- 
edly the  same  as  to  reduce  2  to  1 ;  but  in  practice  the  contest  of 
50  with  100  is  possible,  while  that  of  1  with  2  is  hopeless.  The 
effect  of  this  practice  is  strongly  adverse  to  the  smaller  number, 
or,  in  other  words,  it  tends  to  aggravate  the  effect  of  the  supe- 
rior numbers  of  the  North.  It  will  be  obvious  that  it  only  re- 
quires to  push  the  principle  to  extremes  to  reduce  the  represen- 
tation of  a  small  state  to  a  single  member,  although  that  state 
may  have  been  originally  important,  and  may  have  increased 
slowly  yet  steadily  in  population.     Theoretical  arguments  vnll 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  67 

have  but  little  effect  in  averting  the  discomfort  of  the  losing 
side. 

It  is  not,  indeed,  in  human  nature  to* watch  such  a  process' 
withoijt  doubting  whether  laws  are  really  working  to  equal  ad- 
vantage when  their  effects  are  felt  to  be  so  unequal.  Nor  is  it 
in  human  nature  to  have  once  been  in  possession  of  power,  and 
permit  it  to  pass  into  rival  hands  witliout  a  struggle.  And  in 
some  of  the  oldest  and  most  important  of  the  Southern  states 
tiiis  spectacle  of  the  decay  of  political  power  is  rendered  far 
more  depressing  when  a  similar  decline  is  apparent  in  many 
other  directions.  Senator  Benton,  a  strong  supporter  of  the 
Union,  after  stating  the  extent  to  w-liich  the  Southern  import 
trade  had  fallen  off,  continues  tlius  :  "  This  is  what  the  dry  and 
naked  figures  show.  To  ti.e  memory  and  imagination  it  is 
worse;  for  it  is  a  tradition  of  the  colonies  that  the  South  had 
been  the  seat  of  wealth  and  happiness,  of  power  and  opulence ; 
that  a  rich  population  covered  the  land,  dispensing  a  baronial 
hospitality,  and  diffusing  the  felicity  which  themselves  enjoyed  ; 
tliat  all  was  life,  and  joy,  and  aflluence  then.  And  this  tradi- 
tion was  not  without  similitude  to  the  reality,  as  this  writer  can 
testify ;  for  he  was  old  enough  to  have  seen  (after  the  Revolu- 
tion) thQ  still  surviving  state  of  Southern  colonial  manners, 
when  no  traveller  was  allowed  to  go  to  a  tavern,  but  was 
handed  over  from  family  to  family  through  entire  states ;  when 
holidays  were  days  of  festivity  and  expectation  long  prepared 
for,  and  celebrated  by  master  and  slave  with  music  and  feasting, 
and  great  concourse  of  friends  and  relations;  when  gold  was 
kept  in  chests,  after  the  downfall  of  continental  paper,  and 
weighed  in  scales,  and  lent  to  neighbors  for  short  terms  without 
note,  interest,  witness,  or  security  ;  and  when  petty  litigation 
was  at  so  low  an  ebb  that  it  required  a  fine  of  forty  pounds  of 
tobacco  to  make  a  man  serve  as  constable.  The  reverse  of  all 
this  was  now  seen  and  felt — not  to  the  whole  extent  which  fancy 
or  policy  painted,  but  to  extent  enough  to  constitute  a  reverse, 
and  to  make  a  contrast,  and  to  excite  the  rcgreta  which  the 
memory  of  past  joys  never  fails  to  awaken." 

It  is  true  that  this  picture  will  in  no  degree  apply  to  those  of 
the  Southern  states  which  have  come  into  being  since  the  Union. 


68  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

But  it  applies  to  a  sufficient  number  to  supply  the  Jeaders  of  a 
movement.  Upon  the  leaders  all  such  movements  depend,  and 
their  feelings  will  not  be  unaffected  by  such  facts  as  these.  It  is 
true  that  slavery  is  really  the  main  cause,  and  the  working  of 
the  Union  a  lesser  one ;  but  when  there  are  two  causes  of  such 
facts,  of  which  men  Avill  not  see  or  know  not  how  to  change  the 
one,  they  will  assuredly  desire  to  try  the  effect  of  changing  the 
other.  The  reasoning  may  be  wrong,  but  the  fact  is  there,  and 
we  cannot  but  see  in  it  a  reasonable  ground  for  doubt  on  the 
part  of  a  Virginian  whether  the  Union  has  in  his  own  case  pro- 
moted that  "pursuit  of  happiness"  which  in  America  it  is  an 
avowed  object  of  government  to  secure. 

We  have  considered  the  disturbing  political  effect  of  immigra- 
tion to  the  exclusive  gain  of  the  North.  But  its  effect  on  exist- 
ing states  is  small  when  compared  with  its  importance  in 
respect  of  the  admission  of  new  states  into  the  Union.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century  the  purchase  of  Louisi- 
ana from  France  and  the  abstraction  of  Florida  from  Spain 
gave  a  vast  accession  of  territory  to  the  South,  and  appeared  to 
dispel  for  ever  the  prospect  of  its  supremacy  being  disputed. 
The  attempt,  indeed,  on  the  part  of  the  North  was  long  aban- 
doned. But  the  rate  of  immigration  into  the  free  states  grew 
more  rapid.  The  onward  progress  of  the  lake  states  became 
truly  marvellous;  and  in  1820,  when  Missouri  applied  for  ad- 
mission, the  relative  numbers  in  the  Senate  were  so  evenly  bal- 
anced that  it  came  to  be  decisive  of  the  continuance  of  political 
power  in  the  South  whether  that  state  should  be  an  addition  to 
its  own  ranks  or  to  those  of  the  adversary.  It  was  this  which 
caused  the  desperate  character  of  that  struggle.  The  mere  ad- 
mission of  a  single  state  had  been  accepted  with  indifference 
before,  when  regarded  merely  as  the  addition  of  one  to  a  num- 
ber, but  it  had  become  the  weight  that  was  to  turn  the  scale. 
Previously  each  one  neutralized  but  one ;  in  this  case  it  might 
neutralize  the  whole  by  its  casting  vote.  As  a  question  of  slave 
extension,  Missouri  was  of  no  great  interest,  being  too  far  North 
for  the  advantageous  employment  of  slaves.  There  was  abun- 
dance of  better  soil  in  the  South  untouched.  But  as  affecting 
the  balance  of  power,  the  importance  of  the  Missouri  question 
was  supreme. 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF   THE    UNION.  69 

It  is  hardly  neoessary  to  state  that  the  eontcst  ended  in  favor 
of  the  South  by  tlie  athnission  of  IMissoiiri  as  a  slave  state,  ac- 
companied by  the  well-known  compromise,  under  the  jSrovisions 
of  which  slavery  was  to  be  excluded  from  all  the  territory  em- 
braced in  the  Louisiana  purchase  north  of  36°  30'  latitude. 
For  a  time  this  restored  peace,  or  rather  it  was  followed  by  a 
truce.  * 

The  original  (Compromises  on  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Con- 
stitution was  framed,  have  been  followed  by  this  and  others  in 
its  working.  But  all  such  compromises,  when  they  relate  to 
questions  of  right  or  wrong,  must  involve  on  one  side  at  least  an 
abandonment  of  principle,  and  leave  resentment  behind.  They 
are  also  evidence  that  the  states  which  are  strong  enough  to  en- 
force them  are  strong  enough  to  break  them  if  so  disposed  ;  and 
the  disposition  is  not  likely  to  be  long  absent  where  such  antag- 
onism exists.  It  is  the  great  mi.sfbrtune  of  America  that  the 
thirteen  colonies  were  ever  combined  into  one  incongruous 
whole.  The  impression  prevailed  then  with  many  that  slavery 
would  gradually  die  out.  Had  the  able  statesmen  of  that  time 
anticipated  the  existing  condition  of  affairs,  they  would  not 
have  attempted  to  tie  together  interests  of  such  magnitude  and 
so  discordant.  They  would  have  avoided  the  necessity  for  these 
continuous  and  humiliating  compromises  by  forming  two  repub- 
lics, each  with  laws  suited  to  its  special  condition. 

The  next  severe  struggle  occurred  on  the  admission  of  Texas. 
The  history  of  that  event  is  sulhciently  deplorable.  It  was  at 
first  an  insidious  encroachment  and  at  last  the  spoliation,  not  of 
some  tyrannical  monarchy,  but  of  a  poor  and  feeble  republic. 
Able  Northern  men  protested  against  and  now  denounce  this 
transaction ;  but  it  does  not  seem  very  logical  to  denounce  the 
most  important  results  of  a  system  of  government,  and  yet  to 
hold  that  such  system  must  be  maintained.  The  event  itself 
was  not  novel  in  its  nature.  General  Jackson  wrote  to  Presi- 
dent Monroe:  "Let  it  be  signified  to  me  through  any  channel 
that  the  possession  of  the  Floridas  would  be  desirable  to  the 
United  States,  and  in  sixty  days  it  will  be  accomplished."  As 
the  mother  country,  Spain,  was  thus  denuded  of  a  province  dur- 
ing a  period  of^)eace,  why  should  the  daughter,  Mexico,  be  dif- 


70  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

ferently  used  ?  In  both  cases  Southern  men  were  the  prominent 
actors,  but  the  people  of  the  North  were  partners  in  the  profits. 
Those  who  denounce  in  vehement  terms  the  conduct  of  South- 
ern men  in  this  and  other  cases  appear  to  forget  that  they  are 
denouncing  the  policy  and  the  fruits  of  the  Union,  and  that  by 
its  fruits  every  government  must  be  judged. 

Again  tlie  political  power  of  the  South  seemed  to  be  relieved 
from  jeopardy,  for  the  vast  extent  of  Texas  afforded  room  to 
carve  four  more  states  of  average  magnitude  out  of  it.  It 
seemed  as  if  this  had  settled  forever  the  question  of  political 
predominance  in  favor  of  its  original  possessors. 

Two  unforeseen  events  entirely  disturbed  this  calculation. 
The  admission  of  Texas  led  to  the  war  with  Mexico  and  to  the 
extension  of  the  Union  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  The 
land  of  gold,  for  wjiich  Columbus  had  sought  and  Raleigh  had 
striven  in  vain,  was  at  last  discovered.  An  enormous  addition 
to  Northern  territory  became  rapidly  peopled  with  a  population 
allured  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  And  while  the  search 
for  wealth  was  thus  telling  upon  number  in  the  farthest  West, 
escape  from  want  was  impelling  a  huge  wave  of  emigration  to 
the  Atlantic  shore.  The  Irish  famine  had  occurred.  It  was  no 
longer  a  movement  of  individuals,  but  the  exodus  of  a  people  to 
be  added  bodily  to  the  Northern  power.  Where  tens  of  thou- 
sands had  gone  of  old,  hundi'eds  of  thousands  followed  now. 
With  events  so  vast  and  irresistible  it  grew  hopeless  to  contend. 
Each  census  had  for  a  long  period  disclosed  more  and  more 
plainly  the  superior  progress  of  the  North  ;  bvit  the  last  census 
presented  the  fact  in  so  striking  a  manner  that  further  struggle 
against  the  overwhelming  tide  became  manifestly  vain.  The 
attempt  must  be  abandoned  in  despair  or  some  entirely  ncAV  line 
of  action  need  be  adopted. 

The  long  conflict  we  have  described  had  the  Senate  for  its 
object,  in  which  power  depends  upon  the  number  of  states.  In 
the  House  of  Representatives  the  number  of  members  from  the 
free  states  had  long  preponderated ;  but  here  the  effect  of  num- 
bers was  neutralized  by  political  skill.  Had  the  North  acted  as 
one  body  it  would- have  been  irresistible  ;  but  by  its  division  into 
two  parties,  bitterly  opposed,  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  South, 


CAUSES  OF  l)tBntjrtiUxN  of  the  union.  71 

by  uniting  with  one  of  tlieni,  to  outvote  the  other  and  command 
a  ronstant  majority.  * 

The  old  Federalists  of  the  first  years  of  the  Constitution  be- 
came annihilated  as  a  party  during  Jefferson's  possession  of 
power.  Their  principles  were  overwhelmed  in  the  deluge  of 
democracy,  and  ajjpcared  incapable  of  ever  reviving.  After  a 
long  period  of  ajiparent  extinction,  the  sj)irit  of  Conservatism 
struggled  again  into  being;  for  the  W-liig  party,  the  successors  of 
the  Federalists,  were  the  real  Conservatives  of  the  Union. 
ITn<ler  that  title  they  obtained  a  momentary  triumph  in  the 
election  of  Harrison,  but  they  soon  fell  back  pow(>rless  as  before 
to  be  resuscitated  under  a  new  nauie — that  of  Republicans. 
This  party  comprises  the  great  mass  of  the  intellect  and  the 
wealth  of  the  North.  It  is  also  the  Protectionist  party.  Its 
leaning  is  in  favor  of  a  strong  government,  and  whatever  there 
may  be  of  aristocracy  in  the  North  belongs  to  it.  To  this  party 
the  South,  whose  system  as  regards  the  ruling  political  class  is 
essentially  aristocratic,  should  naturally  have  been  allied.  But 
here  arises  a  singular  result  of  the  complexity  of  American  gov- 
ernment. The  aristocracy  of  the  South  act  in  conjunction,  not 
with  the  conservatism,  but*with  the  democracy  of  the  North. 
From  the  first  the  Southern  states  anticipated  danger  at  the 
hands  of  a  strong  government,  which  might  pass  into  other 
hands  than  their  own.  Slavery  was  originally  on  the  defensive, 
and  under  the  shield  of  their  own  state  governments  they  were 
in  safety ;  all  beyond  was  insecure.  They  were  the  supporters 
of  state  rights  as  opposed  to  the  powers  of  the  central  govern- 
ment; Conservatives  themselves,  they  became  the  opponents  of 
Conservative  principles  in  the  politics  of  the  federal  body. 

By  means  of  this  alliance  the  South  maintained  its  original 
political  supremacy,  not  only  long  after  the  change  in  relative 
population  had  removed  its  soli«l  foundation,  but  down  to  the 
])resent  day.  In  this  lies  the  real  force  of  the  recent  election  of 
Mr.  Lincoln.  It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  the  South  would  have 
encountered  the  dangers  and  horrors  of  civil  war  simply  because 
another  candidate  was  preferred  to  its  own.  The  result  of  an 
election  may  cause  a  riot,  but  to  produce  a  revolution  —  a  gen- 
eral movement  of  a  people  —  there  must  have  been  causes  long 


72  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

enough  In  action  and  powerful  enough  to  have  penetrated  the 
whole  public  mind.  At  the  last  election  there  were  four  candi- 
dates—  Breckinridge,  Douglas,  Bell,  and  Lincoln.  Breckin- 
ridge was  the  candidate  of  the  cotton  states,  and  he  would  have 
been  rejected  by  the  election  of  either  Bell  or  Douglas.  But  no 
one  will  assert  that  those  states  would  have  seceded  had  their 
candidate  been  defeated  by  either  of  those  competitors.'  Again, 
the  South  had  previously  suffered  defeat  at  Presidential  elections 
without  the  sound  of  secession  being  heard.  Why,  then,  the 
effect  on  the  present  occasion  ?  Because,  for  the  first  time  in  _ 
the  history  of  the  United  States,  the  election  of  the  President  . 
was  purely  geographical ;  it  was  not  a  defeat  at  the  hands  of  a 
party,  but  at  those  of  the  Nortliern  power.  Every  Northern 
state  had  voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln ;  every  Southern  state  had  voted 
against  him.  It  was  an  act  which  severed  North  from  South  as 
with  the  clean  cut  of  a  knife.  Upon  such  a  division  Jefferson 
remarked  long  ago :  "  A  geographical  line,  coinciding  with  a 
marlfed  principle,  moral  and  political,  once  conceived  and  held 
up  to  the  angry  passions  of  men  will  never  be  obliterated,  and 
every  irritation  will  make  it  deeper  and  deeper."  There  is  a 
truth  in  these  words  which  gave  the  force  to  this  event ;  it  could 
neither  be  obliterated  nor  revoked.  The  Northern  states  had 
one  hundred  and  eighty-three  votes;  the  Southern,  if  unanimous, 
one  hundred  and  twenty.  Hence  it  was  plain  that  if  the  North 
chose  to  act  in  a  mass  its  power  was  irresistible.  At  last  it  did' 
act  in  a  mass  Upon  that  event  political  power  departed  from 
the  South,  and  departed  for  ever;  the  substance  had  long  been 
gone ;  now  the  shadow  followed  it. 

It  is  the  incurable  nature  of  the  fact  that  gives  so  crushing  a 
weight  to  it.  What  amendment  of  a  Constitution  can  alter  the 
laws  of  growth  in  population '?  What  political  contrivance  can 
control  the  effects  of  climate  and  of  latitude?  It  is  indisputable 
that  the  superiority  of  the  North  in  population  will  not  only 
continue  but  constantly  augment.  The  transfer  of  supremacy 
to  it  when  once  made  must  be  irrevocable.  And  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  that  to  the  mind,  and  in  the  sincere  (though  it  may 
be  erroneous)  convictions  of  the  Southerner,  this  transfer  is  far 
more  than  the  loss  of  prestige,  of  influence,  or  the  emoluments 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  73 

of  power.  The  election  of  ]Mr.  Lineoht  represents  to  liim  the 
determination  of  the  North,  as  a  body,  to  act  upon  the  question 
of  slavery  in  opposition  to  and  disregard  of  the  Constitution 
that  protects  it.  It  is  true  that  such  action  would  be  at  first 
indirect,  by  excluding  him  from  the  territories  which  belong  as 
much  to  the  South  as  to  the  North  —  by  surrounding  him  with  a 
cordon  of  free  states — by  compressing  him — by  suHbcating  him. 
Such  a  process  of  strangulation  is  perhaps  as  painful  to  look 
forward  to  as  any  more  speedy  manner  of  extinction,  and  to  the 
mind  of  the  Southerner  it  is  extinction  in  a  political  sense  that 
he  foresees.  He  anticij)ates  injury  to  his  material  interests  at 
the  hands  of  the  Northern  monopolists,  but  in  the  action  of  the 
Abolitionists,  now  impelling  those  in  power,  he  forebodes  the 
destruction  of  his  property,  the  ruin  of  his  state,  and  the  danger 
of  his  life.  He  sees  in  their  success  the  prostration  of  his  coun- 
try into  the  barbarism  of  Hayti,  with  all  the  horrors  that  accom- 
panied that  terrible  event.  There  exists,  therefore,  in  his  view 
of  the  case,  every  incentive  to  the  strongest  feelings  and  to  reso- 
lute action.  Looking  at  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  from  a 
European  point  of  view,  it  was  an  ordinarj',  an  insignificant 
event ;  looking  at  it  as  seen  bj'  the  Southerner,  it  was  the  knell 
of  the  departing  independence  and  welfare  of  Tiis  portion  of  the 
continent. 

As  it  was  the  "  cry  "  of  that  election,  let  us  brieriy  consider 
this  question  of  the  admission  of  slavery  into  the  territories. 
We  shall  find  in  it  an  illustration  of  the  argument  that  the 
action  of  the  South  on  this  subject,  though  in  appearance  ag- 
gressive, has  really  been  in  self-defence,  as  a  means  of  maintain- 
ing its  political  status  against  the  growth  of  the  North.  Between 
two  rival  powers  the  result  is  obvious  if  the  one  be  rapidly 
growing  and  the  other  remain  stationary.  But  there  are  those 
who  have  confounded  the  idea  of  a  means  with  that  of  an  ob- 
ject. Politically,  as  in  competition  with  the  North,  it  is  of  great 
impbrtance  whether  New  Mexico  or  Arizona  be  admitted  as  a 
slave  or  as  a  free  state.  At  once,  thereupon,  its  vote  would  be 
as  efTectivc  in  the  Senate  as  that  of  the  Empire  state,  New 
York.  But  apart  from  tliis  consideration  what  possible  advan- 
tage can  the  Southern  planter  derive  from  this  e.\teusIou  into 
7 


74  THE    AMKRICAN    UNION. 

new  regions  ?  He.  is  a,  groyver  of  cotton,  "^ill  it  increase  his 
profits  to  have  more  cotton  produced  to  compete  with  him  ?  He 
owns  a  large  estate.  It  cannot  benefit  him  that  more  fertile 
lands  should  be  found  and  the  value  of  his  own  reduced.  He  is 
surrounded  by  friends,  local  associations,  and  some  of  the  com- 
forts of  life.  Is  it  desirable  to  abandon  all  these  in  order  to 
plunge  into  a  wilderness  of  hardship  and  barbarism  ?  Can  he 
be  supposed  to  do  this  except  reluctantly  and  from  some  over- 
ruling necessity  ?  Obviously,  his  interest  and  that  of  his  state 
lie  in  the  avoidance  of  competition  with  themselves,  and  in  the 
preservation  of  the  value  of  their  soil ;  in  other  wprds,  in  restrict- 
ing instead  of  expanding  the  growth  of  cotton.  As  an  end,  an 
olvject  of  desire,  nothing  could  be  further  from  their  wishes  than 
this  expansion.  It  is  an  unfortunate  result  of  the  complex  poli- 
tics of  the  Union  that  the  political  instinct  of  the  South  is 
driven  to  oppose  its  material  interest.  It  must  expand  while  the 
North  expands,  or  succumb.  It  cannot  seek  expansion  from 
choice  or  interest,  but  is  driven  to  it  by  the  impulse  of  political 
self-preservation. 

The  attempt  to  invest  with  a  moral  sentiment  this  question  of 
slavery  in  the  territories  will  become  little  less  than  ridiculous  if 
we  look  into  the  facts.  New  Mexico,  the  most  imjjortant  of  all 
the  territories,  has  been  organized  more  than  ten  years.  It  is 
open  to  slavery — the  Supreme  court  protects  it,  the  government 
has  fostered  it  there.  Its  climate  is  suitable,  it  lies  at  the  extreme 
South,  and  adjoins  a  slave  state,  Texas.  With  all  these  advan- 
tages, it  is  clear  that  slavery  will  have  made  rapid  progress  if 
the  spread  of  it  be  really  an  object  of  desire.  What  are  the 
facts?  New  Mexico  has  an  area  of  two  hundred  thousand 
square  miles,  and  at  the  end  of  ten  years  there  are  upon  it 
twenty-two  slaves,  and  of  these  only  twelve  are  domiciled.  Are 
we  then  to  suppose  that  the  conscience  of  the  North  is  so  framed 
that  it  grieves  over  this  poor  dozen  at  the  same  time  that  it  en- 
dures four  millions  close  at  hoiAe  V  Or  can  we  suppose  that 
there  is  any  real  desire  in  the  people  of  the  South  to  extend 
slavery  for  its  own  sake,  when,  under  every  conceivable  advan- 
tage, they  advance  in  occupying  a  region  four  times  as  large  as 
England,  at  the  rate  of  one  slave  per  annum  ? 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    Of    Till;    UNION.  75 

In  this  we  see  the  truth  of"  Dr.  Maokay's  observation  —  the 
question  is  political  on  both  sides,  and  nothincr  else.  The  mo- 
ment the  South  has  secured  the  vote  of  New  Mexico,  its  people 
care  little  to  go  there,  or  to  take  slaves  there,  for  "the  reasons  we 
have  named.  The  object  of  the  North  is  the  same  —  the  vote  of 
the  state  in  the  Senate.  The*'name  of  slavery  is  used  as  a  telling 
cry,  as  an  electioneering  mantE'uvre.  Those  who  want  a  pretext 
naturally  adopt  the  most  specious.  To  suppose  them  in  earnest 
in  this  cry,  would  really  be  to  mock  their  intelligence ;  for  we 
must  assume  them  to  be  outraged  and  excited  by  an  evil  at  a 
distance  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles  which  they  endure 
in  their  own  metropolis,  crawling  on  the  steps  of  the  capitol. 
What  is  the  language  of  those  who  profess  to  be  acting  for  con- 
science' sake  ? 

In  Mr.  Helper's  book,  to  which  we  shall  have  further  occasion 
to  allude,  we  find  this  passage:  "Too  long  have  we  yielded  a 
submissive  obedience  to  the  tyrannical  domination  of  an  inflated 
oligarchy ;  too  long  have  we  tolerated  their  arrogance  and  self- 
conceit,  their  unjust  and  savage  exactions.  Let  lis  now  wrest 
from  them  the  sceptre  of  power,  and  establish  liberty  and  equal 
rights  throughout  the  land."  The  close  of  this  sentence  will  not 
blind  many.  The  first  French  Republic  went  forth  to  enslave 
its  neighbors  in  the  name  of  "  liberty  and  equal  rights."  We 
can  find  no  instance  where  liberty  was  ever  presented  to  a 
people  at  the  point  of  a  sword.  The  real  object  comes  out  in- 
cautiously— "let  us  now  wrest  from  them  the  sceptre  of  power." 
That  is  a  fair  political  object,  but  why  cloak  it  under  a  sham? 

And  there  is  another  proof  that  slavery  extension  is  merely  a 
party  watchword.  The  whole  continent  is  now  mapped  out 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Which  is  the  territory  that 
now  proiluces  anxiety  to  the  conscience?  The  North  has  al- 
ready sin-rendered  to  the  South  the.  whole  of  the  territories  in 
which  slavery  could  exist.  Kansas  is  a  scuttled  quei^tion.  From 
its  western  boundary  Utah  stretches  across  to  California,  the 
destiny  of  which  latter  is  also  decided.  Is  it  to  be  -supposed  that 
the  people  of  the  South  would  cross  the  vast  regions  of  Kansas 
and  Utah  in  order  to  reach  the  wilds  and  winter's  cold  of  Ne- 
braska, or  Dacotah?    There  are  but  two  territories  left  to  which 


76  THE    AMERICAN     UNION. 

the  question  could  apply — New  Mexico  and  Arizona — and  both 
of  those  are  already  given  up  to  slavery.  Thus,  as  a  matter  of 
pi'actical  bearing,  the  whole  question  is  perfectly  idle.  The 
North  has  surrendered  the  whole  of  the  South  to  slavery,  and 
also  the  whole  of  the  territories  into  which  it  can  be  carried. 
They  object  to  ita  extension  where  it  cannot  be  extended.  As 
a  theme  of  party  declamation  this  is  intelligible  enough,  but  it 
seems  strange  that  any  can  be  found  without  sufficient  penetra- 
tion to  discern  its  merits  as  a  moral  question. 

That  the  small  number  of  the  Northern  people  who  are  really 
earnest  should  desire  to  stay  the  expansion  of  slavery,  repugnant 
as  it  is  to  the  civilization  of  the  present  day,  is  very  natural ; 
and  in  the  principles  they  profess  we  sympathize.  But  it  does 
not  follow  that  their  views  are  permitted  by  the  law,  or  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Constitution.  On  the  contrary,  the  terri- 
tories are  possessed  for  the  common  good  of  the  whole  of  the 
states.  Because  one  section  of  the  country  entertains  now  a 
sincere  but  novel  belief,  this  confers  no  right  to  force  it  upon 
the  other.  By  the  Constitution,  slavery  is  not  only  protected, 
but,  among  other  means,  by  that  of  all  conceivable  the  most 
offensive  to  freemen.  The  owner  of  a  slave  can  pursue  him  into 
a  free  state,  where  slavery  is  ^^rohibited  by  law,  and  take  him 
back  thence  into  bondage.  In  the  face  of  this,  can  it  be  asserted 
that  he  may  not  fcake  him  into  a  territory  where  no  such  prohibi- 
tion exists,  which  is  not  a  free  state,  and  which  of  right  belongs 
to  him  or  his  state,  as  much  as  to  any  other?  The  avowed 
object  of  the  North  is  to  preserve  the  Constitution  —  yet  it  de- 
parts altogether  from  its  spirit.  And  this  is  not  mere  ojiin- 
ion.  It  has  been  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court — the  great  tri- 
bunal of  the  country,  whose  decision  is  above  the  law,  for  it  can 
annul  it — and  final,  for  it  is  without  appeal.  In  the  Dred  Scott 
case,  a  negro  demanded  his  freedom  on  the  ground  of  legal  resi- 
dence beyond  the  latitude  of  36^  30'  North.  This  was  a  strong 
case,  inasmuch  as  slavery  had  been  prohibited  by  Congress  be- 
yond that  line.  The  Supreme  Court  pronounced  that  Congress 
had  no  power  to  make  that  law ;  that  it  was  therefore  null  and 
void ;  and  declared  "  that  the  Constitution  recognizes  the  right 
of  property  in  a  slave,  and  makes  no  distinction  between  that 


CAUSKS    OF    mSRUl'TTON    OF    THE    UNION.  I  I 

description  of  property  and  other  property  owned  bj-  a  citizen ;" 
and  fnrther,  that  every  citizen  had  the  clear  right  to  go  into  any 
territory,  and  take  with  him  that  which  the  Constitution  recog- 
nized as  his  property. 

Thus,  tht;  doctrine  upon  which  ]Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  has 
been  declared  illegal  by  the  supreme  authority  of"  the  country. 
And  how  could  any  other  decision  be  given  ?  A  great  court  of 
justice  cannot  alter  the  terms,  or  pervert  the  meaning  of  a  bond, 
in  order  to  meet  the  wishes  of  a  client.  It  must  take  the  instru- 
ment as  it  stands.  Let  any  one  who  has  no  interest  to  sway  him 
take  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  try  if  it  be  pos- 
sible for  him,  upon  the  obvious  spirit  of  that  instrument,  to 
arrive  at  any  other  conclusion  than  that  of  the  Supreme  court. 
And  the  Northern  party  —  those  who  are  now  fighting  to  main- 
tain the  Constitution  —  bow  do  they  deal  with  this  decision  ? 
They  denounce  it  in  their  manifesto,  or  declaration  of  political 
principles — the  Chicago  platform  —  as  a  "dangerous  political 
heresy."  The  avowed  object  of  the  party  is  to  act  in  opposition 
to  this  solemn  decision  of  tiicir  own  Federal  and  supreme  tri- 
bunal. 

It  arises  from  this,  inevitably,  that  the  Southerner  foresees  in 
the  accession  of  the  North  to  power  not  only  the  reversal  of 
the  former  political  condition,  but  also,  that  when  the  decision  of 
flic  highest  court  of  equity  may  be  in  favor  of  his  Constitutional 
rights  such  decision  will  be  denounced,  and  as  soon  as  readily 
practicable  will  be  set  aside.  What  protection  is  there  for  him 
in  the  future  ?  He  has  none  in  power,  for  the  superior  political 
strength  of  the  North  is  beyond  dispute.  He  has  none  in  pub- 
lic ojiinion,  for  he  well  knows  that  in  America  opinion  is  but  the 
slave  of  the  majority.  He  has  none  in  courts  of  justice,  for  he 
sees  the  decision  of  its  highest  court  denounced.  That  shelter  is 
broken,  and  he  knows  that  it  will  soon  be  removed.  The  ap- 
pointments to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  court  are  political. 
He  knows  that  judges  will  soon  be  selected  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  reversing  former  decisions.  He  knows  that  just  as  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people  in  America  is  a  desjiotic  power,  so  the 
government  of  the  majoiity  there  is  a  despotic  rule.  With  all 
tiiese   facts  before   him,  what   is  he   to  do  ?     Mr.  Seward,  the 


78  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

leader  of  tlie  Northern  party,  had  already  announced  that  the 
conflict  is  "  irrepressible."  And  so  it  is.  Is  he  then  to  wait 
until  all  the  preparations  of  the  opposing  power  in  this  inevi- 
table conflict  be  completed?  or  will  common  judgment  direct 
him,  if  a  conflict  there  is  to  be,  to  accept  it  boldly  and  at  once  ? 

There  is,  indeed,  one  means  of  escape.  It  is  possible  for  the 
Southerner  to  surrender  all  power  to  the  North,  to  abandon  all 
defence  of  what  he  holds  to  be  his  rights,  to  emancipate  his 
slaves,  not  at  the  instigation  of  his  own  conscience,  but  in  obe- 
dience to  the  consciences  of  other  men.  If  that  emancipation 
be  gradual,  he  may  place  himself  under  the  direction  of  North- 
ern men,  who  will  regulate  his  affairs ;  if  sudden,  he  can  risk  his 
life,  and  those  of  his  children ;  and  should  his  property  be  de- 
stroyed he  may  emigrate.  All  this  he  can  do.  But  it  hardly 
seems  that  this  can  be  expected  from  a  people  numbering  eight 
millions,  the  sons  of  those  who  thought  it  right  to  revolt  against 
British  rule  because  tea  was  subjected  to  a  duty  of  three  pence 
per  pound.  True,  that  Avas  the  pretext  only;  there  was  an  ab- 
stract principle,  and  the  real  object  was  independence.  But  if 
the  Virginians  of  that  day  had  so  irrepressible  a  desire  to  obtain 
their  independence  they  may  have  an  equally  strong  desire  to 
retain  it.  Subjection  is  still  subjection,  whether  it  be  to  one 
body  or  to  another  —  the  bitterness  lies  in  the  thing  itself;  and 
the  repugnance  to  it  may  be  as  great  when  it  has  to  be  endured 
at  the  hands  of  brothers  as  when  it  was  rejected  at  the  hands  of 
a  parent. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  North  had  a  clear  right  to  act 
unanimously,  and  to  win  the  election  if  it  could.  But  there  was 
more  than  this.  They  selected  as  a  candidate  one  whose  well 
known  opinions  were  not  those  of  one  impartial  as  between 
North  and  South,  and  pr^ared  to  rule  with  even  hand  both 
great  divisions  of  the  country  —  but  of  an  earnest  and  zealous 
partisan,  a  believer  in  opinions  which,  however  right  or  wrong, 
were  held  by  one-half  the  country  to  imperil  its  existence.  It  is 
plain  that  no  one  can  be  qualified  to  act  as  President  of  the 
whole  Union  who  is  identified  with  opinions  attacking  the  frame- 
work of  half  of  it.  A  ruler  is  assumed  to  be  above  party  —  it  is 
essential  to  his  functions  to  belong;  to  no  section.     To  elect  one 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  79 

unknown  as  a  statesman  but  known  as  a  partisan,  was  to  declare 
•war  against  tlie  other  side.  We  are  not  now  considering  this 
election  in  the  aspect  of  the  slavery  question — that  will  follow — 
but  as  evidence  of  the  detennination  of  the  North  to  assume  the 
power  afforded  by  its  numbers.  Wh)^  not  ?  The  South  had 
held  it  long  enough,  why  not  now  the  North  ?  There  is  this  dif- 
ference. Power  iu  the  hands  of  the  South  threatens  nothing  in 
the  North,  seeks  nothing  from  it,  desires  to  disturb  nothing  in  it. 
It  is  to  the  other  side  simply  a  negation,  an  absence  from  oflice. 
But  power  in  the  hands  of  the  North,  when  acting  not  as  a  party 
but  as  a  people,  is  then  by  no  means  a  negative  evil  or  dis- 
appointment, but  a  source  of  instant  anxiety  and  dread.  It  is 
known  it  will  be  aggressive,  and  that  its  immediate  object  will 
be  to  attack  the  interests  or  institutions  of  the  South.  Oliphant 
remarks :  "  Power  in  the  hands  of  tlie  South  affects  the  patron- 
age of  a  political  party  in  the  North;  but  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  North  affects  the  happiness  of  almost  every  individual  in 
the  South.  The  stakes  are  not  equal.  The  North  are  playing 
for  the  triumph  of  a  party,  the  South  for  all  they  hold  dearest  to 
them." 

Let  it  not  be  assumed  that  we  hold  the  North  to  be  blamable 
for  taking  into  its  own  hands  the  power  that  belongs  to  its  num- 
bers. The  evil  lies  in  the  surrounding  facts.  The  present  cir- 
cumstances of  the  Union,  and  the  opinions  of  the  age  conflict  with 
a  Constitution  which  was  framed  under  conditions  widely  differ- 
ent. Both  parties  are  now  in  a  false  position.  The  one  main- 
taining and  lauding  a  system  that  has  become  repugnant  to  the 
civilized  world;  the  other  seeking,  some  few  of  them,  to  carry 
out  sincere  convictions  by  means  opposed  to  the  Constitution  — 
most  of  them  to  make  use  of  a  sentiment  they  do  not  share  to 
work  with  as  a  lever  in  the  struggle  for  politii^al  supremacy. 

Holland  and  Belgium  were  united  on  the  same  grounds  as  the 
United  States — to  obtain  tliat  defensive  strength  in  union  which 
they  ha<l  not  separately;  and  the  union  was  greatly  to  the  mate- 
rial advantage  of  both.  But,  as  already  observed,  in  a  union  of 
two  powers  one  must  be  supreme,  and  sooner  or  later  the  other 
finds  this  unendurable.  There  existed  between  tlie  Belgians 
and  the  Dutch  no  ronflictinn  social  svstems,  no  wide  difference 


80  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

of  temperament,  no  feeling  of  permanent  dislike.  True,  there 
was  a  difference  of  race;  but  so  there  is  between  England  and 
Wales.  Different  races  may  dwell  together  in  perfect  harmony 
so  long  as  they  are  not  rival  powers.  But  rival  powers,  although 
of  the  same  race,  cannot  coexist  under  the  same  government 
unless  the  one  be  subservient  to  the  other.  So  far  the  North- 
erners have  been  subservient  to  the  South — little  indeed  to  their 
credit.  They  now,  very  properly,  desire  to  escape  from  this 
thraldom.  Escape  from  it  they  can ;  but  they  also  wish  to  re- 
verse it,  and  that  cannot  be  done. 

Under  all  these  circumstances  it  does  not  appear  surprising 
that  the  people  of  the  South  should  desire  to  govern  themselves 
and  "to  be  let  alone."  This  is  all  they  have  asked.  We  have 
Been  how  strong,  how  irresistible  an  impulse  is  the  desire  of  in- 
dependence when  once  thoroughly  aroused ;  we  have  seen  what 
bonds  it  broke  through  when  this  same  people  revolted  from  the 
parent  state.  There  were  all  those  ties  to  restrain,  there  was  no 
antagonism  to  repel;  here  there  are  not  tlie  obligations,  and 
there  is  the  repugnance.  IJnqnestionably,  the  Southern  states 
have  much  more  ground  to  demand  the  position  of  an  indepen- 
dent power  than  the  thirteen  colonies  could  allege;  in  extent,  in 
numbei's,  in  wealth,  in  commerce,  in  every  element,  indeed,  of 
national  strength.  They  are  also,  what  the  colonies  never  were 
— a  united  people.  Tliey  have  the  plea  of  that  example  which 
the  colonies  set  them.  They  believe  in  a  constitutional  right  to 
separate,  which  the  colonies  could  not  allege.  They  act  upon 
doctrines  instilled  as  part  of  the  national  education,  all  of  which 
impel  in  the  direction  they  no\y  take. 

What,  indeed,  is  the  meaning  of  liberty,  if  the  people  of  a  vast 
empire,  nimibering  in  all  twelve,  millions,  are  to  be  compelled  to 
remain  under  a  government  against  their  will  V  What  is  the 
advantage  of  being  fettered  together  in  a  union  of  that  hate 
which  relations  alone  can  feel  ?  The  fraternity  of  the  French 
has  been  translated  '*  Be  my  brother,  or  I  kill  you."  lu  what 
docs  this  differ — "  Remain  in  fraternal  union  with  me,  or  I  in- 
vade youj  and  take  your  life '?"  A  desire  for  self-government 
none  will  deny  as  a  natural  product  of  American  soil.  V/hether 
there  were  grounds  for  acting  upon  it  of  sufEcient  weight  re- 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION    OF    THE    UNION.  ^l 

mains  yet  to  he  considered.  Tbe  existonee  of  such  a  desire  will 
not  be  a  justification  for  provoking  the  terrible  evils  of  revolu- 
tion, unless  there  be  very  grave  causes  that  seem  to  admit  of  no 
other  manner  of  removal.*  Let  us  therefore  consider  the  prin- 
cipal grievances  that  have  been  alleged  as  the  grounds  for  carry- 
ing out  this  desire  into  action. 

*  It  will  doubtless  be  observed  tlint  the  argiiments  of  this  chapter  pntirely 
accord  with  the  conclusions  expressed  by  Karl  Kii^^sell.  that  the  contest  is  really 
one  for  empire  on  the  part  of  the  North,  ami  for  independence  on  that  of  the 
South. 


Chapter    IV. 

CAUSES    OF   DISRUPTION  — THE    ST. AVERY  QUES- 
TION. 

Dr.  Mackay,  in  his  recent  work  "  Life  and  Liberty  in  Amer- 
ica," remarks :  "  Tlie  struggle  between  the  North  and  South, 
of  which  the  negro  is  made  the  pretext,  is,  as  all  the  world 
knows  by  this  time,  a  struggle  for  political  power  and  ascend- 
ancy." Agreeing  entPirely  as  to  the  fact,  we  differ  in  opinion 
as  to  its  being  so  generally  known.  There  are  numbers  in  this 
country  who  do  verily  believe  that  the  present  conflict  is  be- 
tween slavery  and  an  effort  to  abolish  it.  Because  the  North- 
ern are  called  free,  and  the  Southern  slave  states,  their  respec- 
tive names  have  been  adopted  in  the  minds  of  many  as  symbols 
of  the  principle  at  issue.  And  there  have  not  been  wanting 
advocates  of  the  Union  who  have  thought  it  right  or  e.xpedient 
to  profit  by  our  repugnance  to  slavery,  and  to  take  advantage  of 
our  assumed  ignorance  of  American  affairs,  to  enlist  a  large 
amount  of  sympathy  in  their  favor  by  fostering  this  popular  im- 
pression and  giving  this  color  to  the  contest. 

All  know  the  advantage  of  a  telling  "  cry."  This  is  not  only 
a  telling  one,  but  many  surrounding  circumstances  give  to  it  the 
appearance  of  reality.  Yet  we  shall  find  it  a  complete  delusion, 
and  in  its  results  a  deplorable  one.  Its  effect  is  to  defeat  the 
very  object,  the  just  and  benevolent  desire  of  those  who  are 
thus  misguided.  They  wish  to  remove  the  fetters  from  the  slave, 
and  yet  are  led  by  this  error  to  support  the  direct  means  of 
riveting  them.  But  before  we  examine*  in  what  way,  and  how 
far  slavery  has  really  contributed  to  the  disruption  of  the  Union, 
it  may  be  well  to  incjuire  briefly  into  its  real  condition  in  the 
United  States..  The  subject  is  one  in  which  feeling  becomes  sa 
intermingled  with  reason  as  to  render  it  difficult  of  discussion 


CAUSES    OP    DISRUPTION.  83 

with  perfetM.  calmness.  And  there  is  none  upon  whicli  feeling 
once  aroused  beeonies  inflamed  with  more  violent  e.veitement. 

In  tiiis  eountrj'  the  wronjrs  of  slavery  were  denounced  with  a 
fervid  eloquence  of  wliieh  the  vibrations  are  yet  linjiennGr  on  the 
ear.  Since  the  removal  of  the  evil  from  among  ourselves,  we 
have  striven  to  atone  for  our  share  in  the  wrong  by  patient, 
long-persevering  efforts  to  eradicate  the  slave-trade — efforts  that 
have  been  little  rewarded,  unless  it  be  in  the  consciousness  of  a 
I'igiit  employment  of  unselfish  power.  And  these  efforts  have 
maintained  in  active  existence  the  sentiments  that  jiervaded  the 
country  in  the  days  of  Wilberforce  and  Clarkson.  As  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  exists  upon  the  subject  hei:e,  there  are  none 
who  need  to  be  converted  by  exaggerated  statements  or  stimu- 
lated by  excited  appeals.  We  deplore  slavery  as  a  lamentable 
evil,  and  regard  it  as  a  great  human  wrong,  and  yet  we  may 
calmly  seek  out  the  facts  and  judge  of  them  in  their  true  dimen- 
sions. When  stripped  of  all  exaggeration  they  will  still  be 
found  sorrowful  enough;  for  there  is  sufficient  degradation  to 
the  black,  and  injury  enough  to  his  master,  and  detriment 
enough  to  society  at  large,  were  there  no  romance  to  distort  the 
truth,  or  rhetoric  to  sweep  away  our  judgment. 

The  question  arises  at  once  whether  we  shall  speak  of  the 
rule  or  the  exceptions  to  it.  The  great  majority  of  slave-owners 
arc  men  of  as  much  natural  humanity  as  their  fellow-men,  yet 
there  will  occasionally  be  found  a  "  Legree "  among  them. 
They  have  the  plainest  possible  interest  in  promoting  the  health 
and  comfort  of  tiieir  people,  but  ot;casionaliy  one  will  be  found 
whose  passions  neither  humanity  nor  self-interest  can  curb.  The 
great  mass  of  the  negroes,  too,  are  in  the  possession  of  more 
robust  healtli,  more  plentiful  food,  and  more  coemption  from 
care,  than  many  classes  of  the  laborers  of  Europe  ;  yet  there  are 
instances  of  cruel  griefs  and  barbarous  suffering  among  them. 
The  Abolitionist  culls  out  these  exceptional  (tases  and  presents 
them  as  samples  of  the  whole.  Now,  it  will  readily  be  seen  how 
terrible  a  ])icture  migiit  be  drawn  of  the  atrocities  committed  in 
this  country  every  month  of  the  year.  That  picture  might  be 
^shaded  in  witli  brutality  which  is  not  very  rare  in  the  colliery 
districts,  or  the  dense  ignorance  existing  yet  in  some  few  speci- 


S4  THE    AMERICAN    UNION.  , 

mens  of  the  agricultural  mind — extracts  might  be  collected  from 
the  records  of  the  courts  of  murders  and  madness,  of  poisonings 
and  suicides;  and  if  this  picture  were  presented  to  the  people  of 
Japan  it  would  give  them  just  as  correct  an  impression  of  the 
state  of  society  in  England  as  Abolitionist  romances  convey  of 
the  general  condition  of  slavery  in  America. 

What,  indeed,  are  the  simple  facts  ?  The  negroes  have  at  all 
times  abundant  food  ;  the  sufferings  of  fireless  winter  are  un- 
known to  them  ;  medical  attendance  is  always  at  command  ;  in 
old  age  there  is  no  fear  of  a  workhouse ;  their  children  are 
never  a  burden  or  a  care ;  their  labor,  though  long,  is  neither 
difficult  nor  unhealthy.  As  a  rule,  they  have  their  own  ground, 
and  fowls,  and  vegetables,  of  which  they  frequently  sell  the  sur- 
plus. So  far,  then,  as  merely  animal  comforts  extend,  their  lot 
is  more  free  from  suffering  and  hardship  than  those  of  many 
classes  of  European  labor.  Take  the  life  of  a  collier  for  in- 
stance :  what  can  be  imagined  more  dismal,  more  harrowing  .to 
the  mind,  more  repugnant  to  every  impulse  of  human  nature 
than  to  toil  through  life  crouched  in  low  passages,  seldom  per- 
mitting to  stand  erect;  breathing  a  close  and  vitiated  air;  shut 
out  from  voice  or  face  of  fellow-man ;  laboring  on  alone  in  the 
dank  gloom,  like  some  solitary  insect  toiling  m  a  vault;  shrouded 
in  darkness,  except  the  miserable  glimmer  that  makes  the  black- 
ness visible  and  warns  him  as  it  flickers  he  is  ever  trembling  on 
the  brink  of  destruction  !  Is  there  anything  in  hoeing  canes  in 
the  bi-oad  sunlight,  or  weeding  tobacco-plants,  or  picking  cotton, 
which,  as  a  question  of  man's  emjaloyment,  is  really  worse  than 
this? 

And  there  are  other  pursuits  in  which  men  grow  old,  and 
haggard,  and  worn-out,  before  the  middle  term  of  life ;  some  in 
which  there  goes  on  a  stealthy  poisoning  of  the  system ;  yet 
these  are  never  wanting  in  recruits.  Or  what  is  really  the  life 
of  a  common  sailor?  what  kind  of  a  home  has  he  in  his  fore- 
castle ?  what  tranquil  sleep  does  he  ever  know  ?  what  is  the 
length  or  breadth  of  his  real  liberty  ?  and  what  is  the  treatment 
he,  poor  fellow,  too  often  receives  at  the  hands  of  captains  and 
mates  ?  If  these  things  be  dispassionately  considered,  we  shalV? 
find  that  the  labor  of  the  slave  as  an  employment  will  compare 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  85 

favorable  with  many  others  that  attract  no  attention,  because 
there  are  none  to  utter  their  eoniplaints. 

It  will  be  replie<l  that  though  this  may  be  the  case,  still  the 
negro  works  under  compulsion.  But  where  is  there  physical 
labor  that  is  not  under  compulsion?  In  Europe. a  man  must 
work  or  starve  ;  there  is  the  compulsion  of  necessity.  He  does 
not  work  ot  his  own  free-will,  from  choice,  or  inclination,  but 
because  he  is  obliged  to  work.  In  tropical  countries  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  removes  this  necessity — the  labor  of  a  day  will  sup- 
port the  idleness  of  a  week.  There  is  no  longer  the  compulsion 
of  circumstance,  but  in  its  place  there  is^tliat  of  the  master.  If 
in  Alabama,  as  in  England,  a  negro  must  either  work  or  starve, 
he  would  require  no  overseer.  In  Barbadoes,  where  density  of 
population  and  the  occupation  of  every  inch  of  ground  enforces 
industry,  the  free  black  produces  as  much  sugar  as  in  tlie  days 
of  slavery.  In  Jamaica,  where  a  vast  unoccupied  district,  the 
whole  centre  of  the  island,  afforded  room  to  srjuat,  to  plant  a 
dozen  bananas  and  the  roots  of  a  few  yams,  and  then  bask  in 
the  sun,  this  compulsion  of  circumstance  was  absent,  and  the 
effect  was  soon  apparent  when  the  negro  was  no  longer  com- 
pelled to  work.  On  reflection  we  shall  see  that  compulsion  is 
not  confined  to  the  labor  of  the  slave,  but  is  the  real  source  of 
physical  labor  in  all  countries,  although  the  form  of  its  action 
may  be  different. 

That  the  condition  of  the  slave  in  the  South  is  not  one  of  suf- 
fering and  hardship  may  be  seen  by  the  following  evidence. 
When  the  growth  of  population  in  the  North  is  corrected,  for  a 
just  comparison,  by  abstracting  tlie  eiVccts  of  immigration,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  ratio  of  natural  increase  is  greater  among  the 
slaves  than  that  of  the  free  people  of  the  North.  The  ordinary 
rule  is  the  reverse  of  this  ;  for  the  human  race  is  more  prolific  in 
temperate  than  in  tropical  climates.  Africa,  the  home  of  the 
negro,  is  very  thinly  peopled  throughout.  In  tiie  North,  too, 
abundance- of  food,  ami  of  employment,  and  of  fertile  land  still 
unoccupied — the  entire  absence  of  the  usual  impediments  to 
marriage  —  all  circumstances  combine  to  insure  the  greatest  in- 
crease of  population.  In  spite  of  this,  an  analysis  of  the  census 
returns  for  the  last  eighty  years  shows  a  greater  ratio  of  increase 


86  THE    A.MEKICAN    UNION. 

on  the  side  of  the  negro  race.*  It  cannot  reasonably  be  sup- 
posed that  this  cotild  occur  amid  an  ill  used  or  over  taxed  people. 
And  the  physical  condition  and  habits  of  the  negro  speak  for 
themselves.  They  are  a  stronger  and  better  developed  race 
than  the  operative  classes  of  Euroi^e.  -The  men  are  robust, 
healthy,  and  sleek.  A  thin,  careworn  negro  is  common  enough 
among  the  free  blacks,  but  very  rarely  to  be  seen  as  a  slave. 
Their  conversation  and  domestic  habits  are  cheerful.  They  are 
fond  of  singing  and  dancing  of  a  very  energetic  description. 
Frederika  Bremer,  no  advocate  of  slavery,  observes  on  this 
point — "  They  are  the  life  and  the  good  humor  of  the  South." 

Against  this  it  must  be  considered,  that  although  there  may 
be  a  large  amount  of  material  comfort — although,  indeed,  the 
condition  of  the  slave,  as  a  whole,  may  contrast  advantageously 
with  that  of  several  classes  of  European  labor  as  far  as  mere 
animal  life  is  concerned,  still  that  he  is-  debased  as  a  man,  and 
that  even  the  very  gayety  of  his  disposition  may  be  a  proof  of 
this.  It  is  indeed  the  true  objection  to  this  deplorable  system, 
that  it  ignores  the  real  nature  of  man,  the  existence,  in  the 
words  of  Sallust,  of  two  natures,  "  of  which  the  one  is  common 
to  us  Avith  the  gods  the  other  with  the  beasts,"  and  that  it  se- 
lects to  obliterate  and  deny  the  nobler  of  the  two.  But  although 
slavery  must  inevitably  be  debasing  to  the  intellectual  being  of 
raan,4.he  popular  impression  of  the  extent  of  this  influence  is 
greatly  exaggerated.  The  amount  of  degradation  resulting 
from  any  cause  must  be  limited  by  the  height  from  which  there 
was  room  to  fall.  The  intellectual  condition  of  the  slave  can 
hardly  be  said^  to  have  fallen  from  that  of  his  race  in  Africa. 
He  was  there  a  pagan  slave,  he  is  now  a  Christian  slave.     It 

*The  singularly  rapid  increase  in  numbers  of  the  slave  population  does  not 
extend  to  tbe  free  blacks  in  the  North,  who,  on  the  contrary,  exhibit  frequently  a 
tendency  to  diminish  in  number,  when  not  recruited  by  accessions  from  without. 
It  is  a  popular  assertion  of  the  Abolitionists  that  a  practice  exists  of  working  out 
the  slaves  as  some  omnibus  proprietors  are  said  to  deal  with  their  horses— to  work 
tliem  out  in  a  few  years  and  buy  fresh  ones.  But  omnibus  liorses  harflly  cost  £250 
apiece;  and  if  such  a  practice  did  exist,' how  could  it  be  that  these  same  people, 
thus  worn  out  and  destroyed,  increase  in  numbers  at  so  remarkable  a  rate?  The 
doctrine  of  the  Abolitionist  is  based  in  truth,  why  not  with  truth  maintain  it? 
Why  weave  a  tissue  of  exaggerations  the  untruthfulness  of  which  must  be  ob- 
vious to  all  persons  of  experieace? 


CAUSES    OF    DISRLTTION.  87 

differs  also  in  no  appreciable  degree  from  that  of  the  free  black 
in  the  North.  Stranfje  as  it  may  sound,  the  term  "free  nigger" 
is  frequently'  used  by  the  slaves  as  an  expression  of  pity  and 
contempt. 

Why,  we  know  not,  but  we  do  know  as  a  fact  that  nature  has 
ordained  a  difference  in  the  mental  powers  of  man,  as  marked 
and  ineradicable  as  any  of  the  physical  distinctions  of  race.  In 
theory  we  may  call  every  man  a  brother ;  but,  as  a  reality,  take 
the  Esquimaux,  or  the  Australian,  and  work  the  theory  out. 
The  Australian  is  of  all  human  beings  the  most  entirely  un- 
shackled by  restraint.  He  commands  freedom  in  its  widest 
range.  No  slavery  has  ever  debased  him  —  the  name  of  it  he 
never  heard.  Yet  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Australian  savage  ? 
Will  all  the  culture  of  Europe  raise  it  to  our  level  ?  How  many 
efforts  have  been  nuidc  to  elevate  it,  and  with  what  result  ? 
There  is  the  New  Zealander,  by  far  less  free — nay,  with  slavery 
as  an  institution  among  his  people,  in  many  respects  as  savage, 
cannibals  but  one  generation  ago.  Yet  how  entii'ely  different 
in  mental  power.  The  one  full  of  noble  and  generous  senti- 
ments, of  apt  intelligence,  with  tTkeen  sense  of  honor;  the  other 
as  incapable  of  such  feelings,  as  impervious  to  them,  as  if  he 
were  altogether  a  thing  of  ill  colored  clay,  hideously  fashioned 
into  human  form. 

And  these  races,  diffei'ing  so  radically  in  mental  capacity,  are 
in  the  same  latitude  nearest  neighbors  to  each  other.  If  be- 
tween them  there  is  so  indisputable  a  mental  difference,  how 
much  easier  is  it  to  comprehend  its  existence  in  the  instance  of  a 
race,  denizens  of  the  equatorial  region  of  Africa,  when  compared 
with  the  people  of  temperate  Europe.  Had  the  negro  possessed 
the  powers  of  the  European  mind,  his  country  would  not  have 
remained  to  this '  day  without  the  rudest  monuments  of  art. 
Wliat,  indeed,  has  prevented  him  from  rising  even  to  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Arab  ?  And  why  should  we  attempt  to  reason  away 
the  fact  or  receive  it  Avith  impatience  ?  The  mind  of  the  negro 
may  be  improved  and  instructed,  but  it  cannot  be  raised  to  the 
level  of  the  European.  When  we  see  throughout  nature  a 
prevailing  law  of  variety  in  all  things — in  animal  instinct — in 
the  intelligence   of  individual   men  —  why    assume  that   there 


88  THK    AiMERICAN    UNION. 

should  be  uniformity  in  the  mental  power  allotted  to  different 
races  of  men  ?  The  mind  of  the  negro  avoids  reflection  on  the 
past,  abstains  from  investigating  the  future;  he  improves  nothing 
that  is  old,  he  invents  nothing  ihdt  is  i>ew,  he  discovers  nothing 
unknown.  We  are  not  speaking  of  those  of  mi.xed  descent,  but 
of  the  jjure  race ;  and  wherever  it  is  found,  in  Africa  or  Amer- 
ica, these  will  be  found  as  characteristics.  Perception  of  this 
v?ould  save  much  benevolence  from  being  led  astray.  We  im- 
agine the  slave  to  possess  and  groan  under  the  feelings  that 
would  be  ours  if  reduced  to  his  condition.  In  reality,  as  a  rule, 
he  knows  nothing  of  these  feelings.'  It  is  just  as  natural  to  him 
to  be  a  slave  as  it  would  be  monstrous  to  us.  The  great  major- 
ity, if  their  freedom  were  offered  to  them,  would  look  upon  it  as 
a  proposal  to  go  out  and  starve.  He  was  born  to  it,  brought  up 
to  it;  he  has  no  traditions  of  the  past  to  sadden  it — it  is  the 
ordinary  routine,  the  every-day  condition  of  things  around  him. 
He  tasks  his  fellow-slaves,  when  appointed  over  them,  with  a 
peculiar  severity.  He  despises  the  white  man  who  has  no  slaves. 
He  would  have  plenty,  and  of  his  own  race,  too,  if  he  could. 
He  has  no  more  idea  of  questioning  the  justice  or  propriety  of 
the  matter  than  of  inquiring  why  night  follows  day.  We  create 
imaginary  feelings  of  which  he  knows  nothing,  and  sympathize 
with  sorrows  that  are  not  really  in  his  breast,  but  in  our  own. 

We  venture  to  express  these  perhaps  unpopular  opinions  of 
the  general  state  of  the  tacts,  after  personal  observation  in  our 
own  colonies,  as  well  as  in  the  United  States ;  but  although  we 
believe  that  they  apply  to  the  great  majority  of  the  slaves,  there 
are  exceptions.  There  arises  in  some  an  irrepressible  desire  for 
freedom  which  nothing  can  restrain.  It  haunts  them  by  night 
and  by  day.  No  hardship  or  danger  will  deter  them  from  the 
effort  to  escape.  There  are  also  those  in  the  border  states  to 
whom  a  belief  has  been  «conveyed  from  without  that  the  whole  ' 
system  is  unjust,  and  that  they  should  strive  as  a  duty  to  them- 
selves to  escape  from  it.  The  numbers  of  these  classes  are  con- 
siderable absolutely,  but  relatively  to  the  aggregate  of  four  mil- 
lions of  people  they  are  altogether  inconsiderable.  The  vast 
majority,  until  stirred  up  by  others,  are  contented  with  their  lot, 
kaow  no  other,  and  have  no  desire  to  incur  the  anxiety  of  going 


CAUSES   OF   DISRUPTION.  89 

out  into  the  world  to  seek  a  better  one.*  Indeed,  apart  from 
other  and  higher  considerations,  it  is  difficult  to  see  Mfhat  injury 
has  been  inflicted  upon  the  negro  by  taking  him  from  slavery  to 
a  savage  in  Africa  to  place  him  under  a  civilized  master  in 
America.  But  there  is  no  difficulty  in  tracing  the  injury  in- 
flicted by  the  system  upon  that  master,  upon  the  whole  of  the 
white  population,  or  the  sinister  shadow  wliich  it  casts  over  the 
face  of  society. 

In  the  case  of  the  negro  a  comparison  rtiay  be  fairly  made. 
The  works  recently  published  on  several  portions  of  Africa,  ex- 
hibiting the  condition  of  the  race  where  entirely  free  from  the 
influence  of  the  European,  can  leave  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of 
any  dispassionate  reader  whether  or  not  the  change  has  been  to 
his  injury.  But  when  the  same  test  of  comparison  is  applied  to 
the  white  population  in  contact  with  slavery,  the  result  is  very 
diflcrent.  There  is  an  absolute  injury  sustained  by  the  wholee 
white  community,  apparent  to  any  observer,  and  the  more  strik- 
ing when  contrasted  with  its  condition  in  the  neighboring  free 
states.  Where  labor  is  allotted  to  the  black  it  soon  comes  to  be 
held  disreputable  by  the  white  man  to  place  himself  on  the  same 
level.  But  the  great  majority  in  number,  in  every  community, 
will  consist  of  those  who  have  neither  wealth  nor  slaves,  and  this 
important  body,  shut  out  from  the  path  of  ordinary  industry, 
becomes  a  listless  burden  upon  society  instead  of  being  its  main 
support.  The  position  of  this  large  class  in  the  Southern  states 
is  painful  in  the  extreme.     They  are  known  h\  the  appellation 


♦Clear  proof  of  this  appears  in  the  course  of  the  war.  So  far  from  the  negroes 
rushing  under  the  wing  of  the  Nortliern  armies  when  within  their  reach,  the 
numl)ei-8  who  liave  done  so  are  but  a  handful,  and.  a.s  the  Nurtherners  complain, 
very  much  composed  of  "uncles  and  aunts,"  that  is.  of  the  old  and  useless.  We 
do  not  hestitate  to  express  the  conviction  tliat  the  number  of  slaves  willing  to 
take  up  arms  and  fit;lit  fV.r  their  masters  is  larger  tlian  that  of  those  who  would 
accept  of  freedom  if  offered  to  them,  with  the  condition  of  working  for  their  3ub- 
Bistence.  We  are  not  arguing  tliat  this  should  be  so,  but  simply  state  our  opinion  of 
of  the  simple  fact.  The  negro  entertains  and  does  not  scruple  to  express  a  strong 
aversion  to  the  Yankee.  Had  his  condition  really  been  that  so  often  depicted,  the 
last  twelve  months  would  have  reproduced  the  horrors  of  Hayti,  instead  of  per- 
mitting the  entire  tranquillity  that  prevails  throughout  the  .South.  It  is  indeed 
romarkublu  that  amiil  such  a  convulsioti  not  a  single  attempt  at  insurrection 
should  have  occurred. 

•     8 


90  THE    AMERICAN    t^NIOX. 

of  "mean  whites,"  a  term  applied  by  the  nej^roes,  who,  as  we 
have  stated,  associate  respectability  in  the  white  man  with  the 
owning  of  slaves. 

This  class,  which  in  other  systems  is  the  very  backbone  of  the 
framework  of  society,  is  here  disjointed  and  superfluous.  The 
negro,  admirably  adapted  for  field  labor  in  a  semitropical  cli- 
mate, is  altogether  unsuited  for  factory  work.  In  addition  to 
this  and  to  effects  of  climate,  the  coal-fields,  and  other  local 
advantages  of  the  North,  give  to  that  se(;tion  a  superiority  in 
manufacturing  industry  with  which  it  is  impossible  for  "the  South 
to  contend.  Thus,  the  working  white  class  of  the  South  is  shut 
out  from  agriculture  by  the  negro,  and  from  manufactures  by 
the  North.  There  is  no  resting  place  for  the  sole  of  its  foot. 
The  poor  white  is  driven  to  a  life  of  picking  up  and  hanging 
about.  In  well  ordered  societies,  this  middle  class  is  the  great 
source  from  which  some  pass  out  into  labor,  and  others  more 
gifted,  or  more  energetic,  rise  to  power.  It  is  the  body  that 
feeds  and  supports  life  in  the  extremities.  No  society  can  be 
soundly  organized  in  which  the  centre  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes is  in  a  state  of  chronic  debility.  To  confine  industry  to 
a  particular  channel,  and  fill  that  channel  with  foreign  labor, 
must  clearly  enforce  compulsory  idleness  throughout  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  community;  and  that  portion,  of  all  others,  which  it 
is  most  essential  to  the  welfare  of  society  to  maintain  in  vigorous 
health.  It  is  this  paralyzed  state  of  the  laboring  white  class  in 
the  South  that  has  so  impeded  its  growth,  when  compared  with 
the  progress  of  the  North.  There  have  been  other  causes, 
shortly  to  be  considered,  but  this  outweighs  them  all  in  its  per- 
nicious influence  on  the  community. 

In  fact,  slavery,  like  other  wrongs,  reacts  on  the  wrong-doer. 
Taking  the  most  temperate  view  of  it,  stripping  away  all  exag- 
gerations, it  remains  an  evil  in  an  economical  sense — a  Avrong  to 
humanity  in  a  moral  one.  It  is  a  gross  anachronism,  a  thing  of 
two  thousand  years  ago — the  brute  force  of  dark  ages  obtruding 
into  the  midst  of  the  nineteenth  century  —  a  remnant  of  elder 
dispensations  whose  harsh  spirit  was  law  —  in  conflict  with  the 
genius  of  Christianity  whose  mild  spirit  is  love.  No  reasoning — 
no  statistics — no  profit— no  philosophy— can  reconcile  us  to  that 


J 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  91 

which  our  instinct  repels.  After  all  the  arguments  have  been 
poured  into  the  ear  there  is  something  in  the  heart  that  spurns 
them.  We  make  no  declaration  that  all  men  are  born  equal, 
but  a  conviction — innate — irresistible — tells  us,  with  a  voice  we 
cannot  stifle,  that  a  man  is  a  man,  and  not  a  chattel.  Remove 
from  slavery,  as  it  is  well  to  do,  all  romance  and  exaggeration — 
in  order  that  we  may  deal  with  it  wisely  and  calmly — it  remains 
a  foul  blot,  from  which  all  must  desire  to  purge  the  annals  of  the 
age. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  territorial  extension  of  slavery 
is  injurious  to  the  material  interests  of  the  planter,  and  that  the 
present  struggle  is  not  for  the  furtherance  of  slavery  (which  was 
not  threatened  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln),  but  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  political  position  and  independence  of  the  South, 
overwhelmed  by  the  growth  of  an  antagonistic  power.  Nor  is  it 
difHcult  to  offer  evidence  of  this  which  bears  directly  on  the 
present  inquiry.  The  slave-owner  anxious  for  the  continuance 
and  safety  of  his  system  must  desire,  beyond  all  things,  a  guar- 
antee of  his  property,  the  command  of  enormous  force  to  crush 
out  insurrection,  and  some  means  of  recovering  his  slaves  when 
attempting  to  escape.  Now,  all  of  these  he  enjoys  in  the  highest 
degree  within  the  Union.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  framed  by  slave-owners  and  is  a  slave-owning  code.  The 
whole  might  of  the  Union  is  at  the  command  of  the  slave-owner 
to  put  down  any  insurrection.  It  was  even  forbidden  that  the 
slave-trade  should  be  abolished  in  less  than  twenty  years  from 
its  date.  It  gives  political  power  to  slavery,  for  in  allotting  the 
members  of  Congress  to  the  population  it  counts  a  slave  as 
three-fifths  of  a  man.  It  provides  also,  and  is  in  this  respect 
more  cruel  than  the  old  Hebrew  code,  that  the  slave  who  has 
escaped  onto  the  soil  of  freedom  shall  be  sent  back  into  his  bond- 
age. There  was  a  time  when  we,  too,  were  slave-owners,  but 
even  in  those  days  the  soil  of  Britain  was  held  sacred.  It  was 
an  asylum  of  liberty,  to  which  when  any  man  fled  imploringly 
none  could  ask  the  color  of  his  skin.  Slave  under  our  laws — 
owned  by  our  people  —  of  great  value  to  our  trade  —  still  there 
was  that  in  the  genius  of  the  race  that  gave  a  sanctity  to  its 
home — the  moment  the  foot  of  the  slave  trod  upon  the  shore  his 


92  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

fetters  fell  back  into  the  sea.  There  is  'no  such  asylum  in  the 
United  States.  The-capital  of  the  Union  is  a  slave-owning  city. 
The  Federal  court  decrees  that  slavery  is  a  prison,  whose  walls 
are  wide  as  the  country.  Upon  the  open  seas  the  slave-trader 
has  but  to  wrap  the  stars  and  stripes  around  his  traffic  and  go 
unsearched.  Nor  in  all  that  expanse  of  the  North  is  there  one 
altar  to  which  the  fugitive  can  creep  for  refuge  —  clinging  with 
the  grasp  of  despair  —  appealing  to  -that  creed  which  proclaims 
that  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness "  are  the  in- 
herent rights  of  man  —  but  he  must  be  taken  back  to  his  bonds, 
at  the  bidding  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

A  fervent  appeal  has  been  made  to  us  to  support  this  Consti- 
tution. It  has  been  urged,  and  in  no  measured  terms,  that 
Englishmen  who  condemn  slavery  are  bound  to  sympathize  with 
those  who  encounter  the  perils  of  war  with  the  name  of  freedom 
on  their  lips.  Can  it  be  true  that  this  is  the  Constitution  we 
are  to  support  in  freedom's  name  ?  Is  this  what  Mr.  Seward 
calls  "an  object  of  human  affection?"  Our  support  might  be 
demanded  on  the  grounds  that  it  held  together  a  large  popu- 
lation and  gratified  the  ambition  of  those  whose  thirst  is  for 
greatness.  Or  it  might  be  sought  on  the  ground  that  it  fosters 
a  gigantic  trade  and  brings  large  profits  to  its  supporters.  But 
to  claim  our  sympathy  in  the  name  of  freedom,  and  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  slave — this  seems  a  mockery  of  our  reason,  based  on 
some  great  delusion  in  those  who  ask  it,  or  attempted  in  a  belief 
that  the  darkest  ignorance  envelops  those  whom  they  address. 

We  see  clearly  that  looking  only  to  slavery,  its  maintenance, 
and  protection,  the  Southerner  can  desire  nothing  more  than  he 
already  has  in  the  Constitution  and  the  Union.  What,  indeed, 
is  he  to  gain  by  such  a  change  as  the  present  one  ?  Instead  of 
the  whole  power  of  the  continent  to  support  him  two-thirds  will 
be  lost  to  him  —  perhaps  arrayed  against  him.  In  place  of  the 
Northern  states  to  prevent,  to  act  as  a  prison  wall  to  the  escape 
of  his  slaves  and  return  them  at  his  bidding,  he  makes  them 
foreign  and  jealous  powers.  Instead  of  Abolitionism  being  the 
doctrine  of  a  small  sect,  regarded  as  fanatical  by  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  North,  he  will  have  it  adopted  as  an  article  of  the 
general  creed.     It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  change  more  danger- 


CAUSES    OF    niSKUPTV^IN.  93 

oils,  more  disastrous  to  his  interests  as  a  slave-owner ;  for  to  these 
permanent  eflfects  is  added,  at  once,  an  enormous  depreciation 
in  the  vahie  of  liis  property  of  all  descriptions,  with  tlie  risk  of 
hostile  armies  shattering  the  whole  system  into  ruin.  Hence,  to 
support  the  theory  that  slavery,  as  a  system,  has  been  the  cause 
of  existing  events,  we  must  suppose  him  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
Constitution  and  all  its  safeguards,  and  blind  to  evils  and  dan- 
gers inevitable  in  the  change,  and  so  obvious  that  he  who  runs 
may  read  them.  But  the  men  of  the  South  have  been,  through- 
out the  history  of  the  United  States,  the  ablest  statesmen  of  the 
Union,  and  it  cannot  be  conceived  that  they  could  be  blind  to 
consequences  so  manifest.  The  truth  is  apparent  that  so  far  as 
slavery  is  concerned  the  South  had  every  possible  reason  for 
remaining  in  the  Union,  and  that  they  have  acted  in  direct 
opposition  to  that  interest  under  the  influence  of  other  and 
more  powerful  considerations. 

There  is,  however,  a  more  distant  view  of  the  case  which  has 
to  be  considered.  It  may  be  said  that  although  the  present  state 
of  facts  may  be  as  Ave  have  described,  yet  that  the  accession  of 
the  Republican  party  to  power  produced  an  apprehension  that 
the  strength  of  the  North  might  be  eventually  exerted  to  abolish 
slavery,  and  that  the  South  have  acted  in  this  anticipation.  But 
this  theory  can  only  be  entertained  by  those  who  are  unacquainted 
with  American  politics.  There  exists  in  the  North  a  small  sect 
of  Abolitionists,  zealous  to  fanaticism,  but  resolute,  untiring 
men.  In  numbers  they  were  a  handful.  In  politics  they  were 
tabooed  by  both  great  parties.  By  tlie  mass  of  the  people  of 
the  North  they  were  avoided  and  ridiculed.  At  the  present 
moment  they  stand  apart  in  their  action  from  that  of  the  Wash- 
ington government, and  are  one  of  its  most  perplexing  difficulties; 
and  while  the  representative  mea  of  the  North  take  up  the  Con- 
stitution as  their  banner,  the  views  of  the  genuine  Abolitionists 
cannot  be  more  plainly  ex])ressed  than  in  their  own  words. 

One  of  their  leaders,  at  a  meeting  held  in  New  York,  ]\Iay 
13,  1857,  laid  down  the  principle  that  "  They  demanded  justice 
for  the  slave  at  any  price  —  of  Constitution,  of  Union,  of  coun- 
try. He  believed  that  this  Union  efTcctually  prevented  them 
from  advancing,  in  the  lesust  degree,  the  work  of  the  slave's 


94  TIIK    AMERICAN    UNION. 

redemption."  And  at  the  same  meeting  William  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, one  of  the  foremost  of  the  body,  made  use  of  these  ex- 
pressions :  "  So  long  as  this  blood-stained  Union  existed  there 
was  but  little  hope  for  the  slave."  There  are  on  record  far 
stronger  sentiments  from  the  same  leading  authority,  such  as  the 
following:  "This  Union  is  a  lie;  the  American  Union  is  a  sham, 
an  imposture,  a  covenant  with  death,  an  agreement  with  hell." 
"  Let  the  slave-holding  Union  go,  and  slavery  will  go  with  the 
Union  down  into  the  dust."  From  this  small  specimen  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  genuine  Abolitionists  regard  slavery  not  as  an 
evil,  but  as  a  crime ;  that  they  hold  it  matter  of  religious  princi- 
ple not  to  be  sacrificed  to  profit  or  ambition,  and  desire  it  should 
be  ejected  at  whatever  cost,  while  the  government  and  the 
great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  North  are  fighting  to  retain 
it  within  the  Union. 

There  are,  indeed,  in  the  North  considerable  numbers  of 
rational  men  who  object  to  slavery  and  deplore  it,  but  are  not 
disposed  to  break  the  laws  or  plunge  the  South  into  a  whirlpool 
of  ruin.  They  hope  the  day  will  come  to  end  it,  but  decline 
action  till  they  see  clearly  how  to  act.  The  number  of  this  class 
is  steadily  on  the  increase,  and  it  now  forms  an  important  section 
of  the  Republican  party;  but  even  in  this  class  it  is  difficult  to 
say  to  what  extent  the  feeling  is  not  one  of  party  rather  than  of 
principle.  The  Democrat  supports  slavery — the  object  of  the 
Republican  is  to  defeat  the  Democrat ;  therefore  he  must  needs 
object  to  slavery  as  a  party  matter.  But  after  allowing  for  this 
there  is  still  in  the  North  a  large  amount  of  sincere  and  rational 
objection  to  it,  entirely  apart  from  those  who  turn  the  principle 
into  a  trade  or  the  politicians  who  use  it  as  a  tool  of  party. 

But  the  Southerners  are  well  aware  of  all  this.  The  agitation 
of  the  question  is  not  a  surprise, to  them — it  has  existed  for  half 
a  century,  and  has  frequently  been  more  violent  than  at  any 
period  of  the  past  year.  They  are  well  aware  of  the  consid- 
erable proportion  of  make-believe  in  American  professions. 
They  had  ample  evidence  of  the  intended  policy  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  of  the  government  now  under  its  control.  It  is 
the  practice  in  the  United  States  for  each  party,  before  the  Pres- 
idential elections,  to  issue  a  manifesto  declaring  its  principles, 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  95 

popularly  known  as  its  "  platform."  The  Ropublican  platform 
was  adopted  at  Chicago  in  1860.  Its  fourth  article  ruus  thus : 
''  The  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rijrhts  of  the  states,  and  espe- 
ciallv  the  right  of  each  state  to  order  and  control  its  own  do- 
mestic institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment,  exclusively,  is 
essential  to  that  balance  of  power  on  which  the  perfection  and 
endurance  of  our  politic.il  fabric  depends."  The  "domestic  in- 
stitution" referred  to  in  this  clause  of  course  is  slavery.  Here  is 
the  manifesto  of  the  Northern  power,  now  supreme,  which 
plainly  declares  that  slavery,  under  the  control  and  according 
to  the  judgment  of  each  state  containing  it,  shall  be  "main- 
tained inviolate." 

On  the  accession  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  his  inaugural  address  afibrds 
an  exposition  of  the  policy  of  the  new  government.  It  contains 
these  words  :  "I  have  no  purpose, directly  or  indirectlj',  to  inter- 
fere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  exists. 
I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I  have  no  inclina- 
tion to  do  so.  Those  who  nominated  and  elected  me  did  so  with 
a  full  knowledge  that  I  had  made  this  and  many  similar  declara- 
tions and  had  never  recanted  them.  And  more  than  this,  they 
placed  in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance  and  as  a  law  to  them- 
selves and  to  me  the  clear  and  emphatic  resolution  which  I  now 
read."  This  is  followed  by  the  clause  from  the  Chicago  decl.ara- 
tion  already  (juotcd,  and  he  continues  :  "  I  now  reiterate  those 
sentiments,  and  in  doing  so  I  only  press  upon  the  public  atten- 
tion the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  which  the  case  is  suscep- 
tible that  the  property,  peace,  and  security  of  no  section  are  to 
b(^in  anywise  endangered  by  the  now  incoming  administration." 
Mr.  Lincoln  then  jiroceeds  to  recite  the  fugitive  slave  clause  of 
the  Constitution,  and  remarks:  "It  is  scarce!}' questioned  that 
this  provision  was  intended  by  those  who  made  it  for  the  re- 
claiming of  what  we  call  fugitive  slaves;  and  the  intention  of 
the  law-giver  is  the  law.  All  members  of  Congress  swear  their 
support  to  the  whole  Constitution,  to  this  provision  as  much  as 
any  other."  In  a  further  passage  he  proceeds:  "I  understand 
a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  whicli  amendment, 
however,  1  have  not  seen,  has  j)assed  Congress,  to  the  eftect  that 
the  Federal  government  shall  never  interfere  with  the  domestic 


96  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

institutions  of  states,  including  that  of  persons  held  to  service. 
To  avoid  misconstruction  of  what  I  have  said,  I  depart  from  my 
purpose  so  far  as  to  say  that,  holding  such  a  provision  as  now 
implied  to  be  constitutional  law,  I  have  no  objection  to  its  being 
made  express  and  irrevocable." 

This  proposed  additional  clause  to  the  Constitution  was  passed 
by  Congress  on  the  3d  March  last,  and  runs  thus :  "  That  no 
amendment  shall  be  made  to  the  Constitution  which  will  author- 
ize or  give  Congress  power  to  abolish  or  interfere  within  any 
state  with  the  domestic  institutions  thereof,  including  that  of 
persons  held  to  labor  or  servitude  by  the  laws  of  said  state." 
When  ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  states  it  will  therefore 
be  part  of  the  Constitutiou  that  the  government  shall  never  have 
power  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  any  of  the  states.  It  was 
indeed  entered  on  the  journals  of  Congress  soon  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  present  Union:  "That  Congress  have  no  authority 
to  interfere  with  the  emancipation  of  slaves  or  in  the  treatment 
of  them  in  any  of  the  states;  it  remaining  with  the  several 
states  alone  to  provide  any  regulations  therein  which  humanity 
and  true  policy  may  require."  This  entry  might  have  been 
rescinded,  but  now  a  clause  of  the  Constitution,  supreme  above 
the  powers  of  Congress,  will  ordain  that  slavery,  so  far  as  Fed- 
eral legislation  or  government  extend,  shall  be  irrevocable  in 
the  United  States. 

Thus  we  have  the  most  indisputable  evidence  that  slavery  in 
the  states  is  not  to  be  interfered  with  in  the  future ;  we  have 
that  of  the  political  manifesto  of  the  North — that  of  the  address 
of  the  President  they  have  elected — that  of  Congress  passing  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  declaring  it  for  ever  beyond  its 
reach.  Strange  that  in  the  face  of  all  this  there  should  be 
those  who  can  bring  themselves  to  believe  that  the  abolition  of 
slavery  is  the  real  object  of  this  conflict.  But  if  it  is  so  clear 
that  slavery  is  not  really  at  issue,  how  comes  it  to  be  so  identi- 
fied with  the  contest  ?  We  have  already  seen  that  the  question 
of  its  extension  into  the  territories  has  formed  a  great  element 
in  the  strife,  in  no  respect  as  a  question  of  moral  principle,  but 
solely  as  one  of  political  power.  Beyond  this  it  has  contributed 
to  the  rupture  in  a  very  high  degree,  not,  indeed,  upon  any  con- 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUrXION.  97 

sideration  of  material  interests,  but  as  a  source  of  rancorous 
enmity  of  feeling,  embittered  by  the  intemperate  language  and 
irritating  agitation  of  the  Abolitionists. 

We  may  know  a  possession  to  be  safe  under  protection  of  the 
law,  but  if  our  title  to  it  be  attacked  year  after  year,  our  riglit 
denounced,  and  our  principles  reviled,  at  last,  although  reason 
may  not  be  alarmed,  patience  will  become  exhausted  and  temper 
aroused.  The  attack  may  not  be  formidable  in  power,  but  in- 
tolerable in  its  nature,  until  at  last  the  desire  to  be  rid  of  it 
becomes  irresistible.  In  order  to  estimate  the  strength  of  this 
feeling  we  must  consider  what  are  the  views  of  the  Southerner 
upon  this  subject,  and  in  what  manner  they  are  attacked.  To 
judge  correctly,  and  appreciate  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  the 
South,  it  is  essential  to  divest  ourselves  of  our  own  oj)inions, 
and  to  conceive  that  we  occupy  their  position  and  see  with  their 
eyes. 

All  know  that  in  every  country  labor  is  the  groundwork  of 
society,  to  imperil  which  is  to  imperil  existence.  The  nature  of 
the  climate  in  the  South  caused  this  labor  to  be  that  of  the 
negro,  and  we  for  our  own  advantage  planted  the  system  in  the 
country.  There  are  those  who  hold  at  the  present  day  that 
cotton  could  be  grown  as  well  by  white  men.  In  a  partial  sense, 
this  is  true ;  in  a  general  one,  quite  fallacious.  In  the  uplands 
of  the  Atlantic  states,  and  on  the  elevated  lands  of  Tennessee 
and  Texas,  it  is  quite  possible,  and,  indeed,  now  in  practice. 
But  the  quantity  these  districts  produce  is  insignificant  in  refer- 
ence to  the  whole  crop.  The  soil,  so  admirably  adapted  for  the 
growth  of  cotton,  and  which  none  other  in  the  world  appears  to 
equal,  is  the  "  bottom  land,"  the  alluvium,  along  the  course  of 
the  rivers  of  all  the  most  baneful  to  the  white  race.  T!ie  heat 
of  the  cotton  states  in  summer  is  as  intense  as  that  of  the  West 
Indies,  and  more  exhausting  in  its  effects,  for  there  it  is  tem- 
pered by  the  humidity  of  the  ocean  and  the  daily  alternations 
of  the  land  and  sea  breezes. 

On  several  occasions  the  employment  of  white  labor  has  been 

attempted  in  Jamaica,  but  invariably  with  the  same  disastrous 

result.     Besides,  cotton  is  not  the  only  product  of  the  South; 

there  are  others  of  large  importance  —  tobacco,  sugar,  rice.     In 

9 


98  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

South  Carolina,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  such  is  the  nature 
of  the  climate,  that  the  planter,  born  and  nurtured  on  the  spot, 
is  forced  to  leave  home  and  fields  for  many  months  of  the  year. 
Around  Charleston  it  is  regarded  as  certain  death  to  continue 
in  the  countrj^  even  for  one  w^eek  during  the  summer  season. 
Suppose  such  a  distri<;t  peopled  with  white  laborers — could  they 
remove  to  reside  in  other  air  for  many  months  of  the  year,  and 
what  would  become  of  the  crop  during  their  absence  ?  And 
yet,  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  the  negro  continues  at  his  work 
amid  the  swamps  in  perfect  health.  In  Louisiana,  the  heat  of 
the  climate  is  aggravated  by  the  process  of  sugar  making  to  so 
great  a  degree  that  the  European  can  hardly  endure  to  stand 
in  the  temperature  in  which  the  negro  has  to  work  ;  yet  they 
rejoice  in  the  juice  of  the  cane,  and  are  never  more  hearty  than 
during  the  boiling  season. 

The  plain  truth  is,  and  it  is  idle  to  attempt  to  argue  it  away, 
that  the  white  man  is  the  inhabitant  and  laborer  of  the  temper- 
ate zone,  and  he  would  no  more  thrive  if  put  to  field  labor  amid 
the  canes  of  Louisiana,  or  the  rice  swamps  of  Carolina,  or  the 
cotton  lands  of  Mississippi  or  Alabama,  than  would  the  Benga- 
lee in  the  ice  harvest  of  the  winter's  cold  of  Massachusetts. 
Nature  has  allotted  to  each  latitude  a  race  suited  to  its  climate, 
and  we  cannot  reverse  her  laws.  And  Avhatever  may  be  the 
speculations  of  visitors  and  theorists,  this  is  beyond  a  doubt  — 
that  there  exists  in  the  mind  of  the  Southern  planter  a  thorough 
conviction  that  without  negro  labor  his  fields  must  go  untilled, 
and  he  and  his  children  come  to  want.  With  him,  therefoi-e, 
the  question  is  more  than  one  of  mere  profit,  it  is  one  of 
existence. 

It  is  also  one  of  property,  a  subject  upon  which  in  every  part 
of  the  world,  and  in  none  more  so  than  in  this  country,  human 
nature  is  susceptible  and  tenacious.  And  in  this  case  it  is  no 
ordinary  amount  of  property.  The  slaves  of  the  Union  have 
been  valued  as  high  as  six  hundred  and  fifty  millions  sterling, 
which  appears  excessive.  But  taking  the  number,  which  is  by 
the  last  census  four  millions,  at  an  average  value  of  six  hundred 
dollars — a  very  low  estimate  in  1860  —  this  would  give  a  sum  of 
five  hundred  millions  of  pounds  sterling.     And  they  who  talk 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  99 

SO  readily  of  cniaiicip'ition — who  cK-nouiu'c  tlio.  South  so  bitterly 
and  imi)atiently  —  do  tlicv  stop  to  consider  what  five  hundred 
millions  sterling  really  means  ?  We  emaneipated  our  slav.es  at 
a  cost  of  twenty  millions,  a  trifle  in  comparison.  Who  is  pre- 
pared to  say  that  to  this  very  day  we  should  not  have  con- 
tinued slave-owners  had  it  required  five  hundred  millions  to 
remove  the  evil  ?  If  we  assume  that  payment  of  the  full  value 
might  not  be  required,  who  is  prepared  to  pay  half,  or  a  third, 
or  a  quarter  of  the  sum  ?  Is  it  proposed  that  the  South,  of  its 
own  magnanimity  and  virtue,  should  make  the  sacrifice  ?  But 
when  was  such  a  sacrifice  heard  of  or  recorded  in  the  history  of 
mankind  ?  Men  will  nicake  sacrifices  under  the  impulse  of  their 
own  strong  convictions  of  tluty;  but  in  this  case  there  is  no 
more  conviction  of  wrong  than  existed  among  our  own  West 
Indian  proprietors;  if  possible,  still  less. 

And  the  vast  sum  named  is  not  all  that  is  at  stake.  The  value 
of  real  and  personal  estate  in  the  South  has  been  estimated  as 
very  nearly  ecjual  to  that  of  the  slaves ;  and  by  this  rule  the 
landed  property  would  considerably  exceed  two  hundred  mil- 
lions. Now  as  the  loss  of  slave  labor  would,  in  their  belief,  vir- 
tually annihilate  all  value  in  land,  it  is  really  as  a  question  of 
seven  hundred  millions  sterling  that  this  subject  presents  itself 
to  the  Southern  mind. 

There  is  another  result  of  the  Abolitionist  agitation.  The 
American  of  the  Southern  states  is  not  entirely  v.ithout  the  feel- 
ings of  other  men.  It  is  well  known  that  the  most  accom- 
plished anil  refined  of  American  society  may  be  found  there. 
They  have  contributed  more  than  their  share  to  all  that  has 
given  lustre  to  the  military  history  of  their  country  or  the  coun- 
cils of  its  Senate.  Of  the  names  familiar  to  Europe,  those  of 
Washington,  Jefferson,  ^Madison,  Monroe,  Jackson,  Marshall, 
Clay,  Calhoun,  Scott,  and  Maury,  are  all  names  of  Southern 
men.  No  equal  list  can  be  produced  out  of  the  Northern  ranks. 
Hence  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  a  community  of  which  such  men 
were,  or  now  are  citizens,  is  not  so  entirely  barbarous  as  to  be 
void  of  feelings  common  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  If  they  do 
possess  them,  what  must  be  the  effect  upon  those  feelings  of  a 
gnawing  agitation  which   not  only  aims  at  the  destruction  of 


100  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tlieir  property,  accoinpaniccl  by  the  jeopardy  of  their  existence, 
but  which  holds  tlicm  up  to  scorn  in  the  press,  in  the  jmlpit,  in 
society,  as  men  of  no  principle,  of  no  humanity ;  which  depicts 
them  as  monsters  in  novels,  and  denounces  them  as  reprobates 
in  sermons  ?  Is  any  people  to  be  found  so  utterly  phlegmatic  as 
to  be  exposed  to  this  year  after  year  —  to  hear  their  own  fellow- 
citizens  rebuking  them  as  criminal,  and  striving  to  destroy  the 
system  on  which  their  property  and  existence  depend,  without 
being  roused  at  last  to  some  strong  degree  of  impatience  ?  And 
when  we  know  that  they  are  naturally  a  proud  and  sensitive 
race,  we  cannot  but  expect  that  these  things  have  sunk  deep  into 
their  minds. 

The  Southerner  is  conscious  that  the  rising  generation  in  the 
North  is  being  educated  to  look  upon  him  as  one  of  a  lower  order 
of  civilization :  as  a  culprit  and  a  sinner,  whom  it  is  a  religious 
duty  to  reclaim  froui  the  error  of  his  ways,  or  to  punish  for  his 
wickedness.  Now,  if  all  this  be  ever  so  true,  it  is  not  the  less 
galling  to  the  spirit  of  a  powerful  people.  It  was  no  part  of  the 
terms  on  which  the  sovereign  states  of  the  South  entered  into 
the  Federal  compact  that  others  of  the  contracting  states  should 
assume  a  right  of  moral  superiority,  or  adopt  a  practice  of  teach- 
ing and  preaching  againsfe  them.  They  simply  continue  what 
they  were  when  the  compact  was  framed ;  theyact  in  the  spirit 
and  under  the  terms  of  the  Constitution.  They  were  slave- 
owners then,  as  we  were  —  as  the  North  was ;  they  ai*e  so  still. 
There  was  no  bargain  that  one  section  should  change  its  moral 
standard  and  enforce  its  altered  views  upon  another.  Any 
American  has  a  clear  right  to  urge  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  his 
own  state,  among  his  own  people,  and  to  use  such  form  of  per- 
suasion as  may  seem  best  to.  him.  But  it  becomes  a  very  differ- 
ent thing  when  one  section  assumes  this  right  against  another 
section,  each  of  them  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  that  its 
social  polity  shall  stand  intact,  under  the  control  of  its  own  peo- 
ple. Hence  this  agitation  not  only  embitters  the  feelings  of  the 
Southerner,  but  appears  to  him  utterly  unjust,  as  a  direct  vio- 
lation of  the  whole  scope  and  spirit  of  the  Federal  compact. 

There  are  also  some  passages  of  history  that  are  deeply  im- 
pressed upon  the  Southern  mind.     The  insurrections  that  have 


CAUSES    OF    DTSRTJPTTON.  lOt 

several  times  occurred  in  America  and  tlie  West  Indies,  and  the 
rising  of  the  blacks  in  Ilayti.  dwell  constantly  uj^on  his  menii^y; 
and  when  he  n-ads  some  Abolitionist  incitement  to  revolt,  and 
when,  recollecting  what  every  negro  revolt  has  been,  he  easts 
his  eye  upon  his  children,  upon  his  daughters,  and  his  wife,  he 
must  be  more  or  less  than  man  if  thei'e  stir  not  up  some  strong 
and  bitter  feeling  within  him.  The  treatment  of  Abolitionists  in 
the  Southern  states  has  been  one  result  of  this;  is  it  very  sur- 
prising to  find  as  another  a  desire  to  depart  from  the  Union, 
and  to  be  "  let  alone  ?" 

Having  before  us  these  views  of  the  South  upon  this  subject, 
and  the  enormous  amount  of  the  interests  at  stake,  let  us  see  by 
what  means  and  manner  of  persuasion  the  Abolitionists  have 
attempted  to  deal  with  so  diflicult  and  so  vast  a  subject.  They 
have  adopted  but  one  method  —  abuse.  Sj)eeches,  novels,  ser- 
mons, pamphlets,  but  all  the  same  thing,  a  repetition  of  words, 
without  a  plan,  and  witliout  one  serious  practical  effort.  It  is 
plain  that  to  overturn  the  framework  of  society  —  suddenly  to 
cast  adrift  four  millions  of  human  beings,  and  jeopardize  inter- 
ests amounting  to  seven  hundred  millions  sterling — without  well 
digested  pi'ecautions  would  proiluce  no  other  result  than  deso- 
lation and  woe.  Yet  this  is  the  proposal  of  the  leading  Abo- 
litionists. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  subject  is  so  vast  a,s  to  render  it  hope- 
less to  ajjproach  it  in  any  practical  spirit ;  but  there  are  branches 
of  it  within  the  reach  of  direct  action  —  some,  indeed,  requiring 
no  supi-eme  exertion.  Not  one  of  these  has  been  seriously  un- 
dertaken. It  is  a  cheap  matter  for  those  gifted  with  powers  of 
speech  to  denounce  the  errors  of  other  jjcople.  Liberty  is  a 
favorite  subject  for  declamation,  and  slavery  affords  an  inex- 
haustible text  for  sermons.  But  where  are  the  solid,  practical, 
business-like  measures  of  thoughtful  and  earnest  men?  The 
District  of  Columbia  is  under  tiie  absolute  control  of  Congress, 
and  is  a  slave  district,  un.shielded  by  the  Constitution.  Tliere  is 
no  compact  in  the  way.  There  are  strong  and  peculiar  motives 
for  action,  for  here  slavery  degrades  the  metropolis  of  the  land, 
invades  the  temple  of  the  national  liberties,  and  desecrates  the 
home  of  all  that  is  most  sacred  to  the  nation.     Here,  too,  it  is  a 


102  THE    AMERICAN    UXION. 

duty,  not  under  the  responsibility  of  others  at  a  distance  —  it 
belojigs  to  themselves.  None  can  urge  the  plea  that  it  lies  be- 
yond reach,  obscure,  or  remote ;  it  is  there  visible,  palpable, 
every  hour  of  every  day.  The  number  of  slaves,  too,  is  small; 
by  the  last  census  but  3,181.  Yet  there  it  remains  to  this  day. 
It  is  true  that  just  as  there  is  a  special  incentive  to  the  one 
party  to  desire  its  removal  from  the  capital  of  the  Union,  so 
there  will  be  equal  eagerness  with  the  other  to  defend  it.  But 
if  the  whole  power  of  the  Abolitionism  of  the  North  has  not 
sufficed  to  effect  so  small  a  matter  as  this ;  if  it  cannot  master  a 
number  of  3.181,  what  shall  we  say  to  the  judgment  or  common 
sense  that  undertakes  to  deal  with  four  millions  in  number  and 
seven  hundred  millions  sterling  in  value? 

If  the  power  of  resistance  would  be  great  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  there  is  a  position  not  far  distant  where  it  would  be 
feeble.  The  little  State  of  Delaware  has  long  been  hovering  on 
the  verge  of  freedom.  It  has  no  industry  in  which  the  employ- 
ment of  slaves  offers  any  advantage,  and  their  number  is  but 
1,798 — a  mere  handful.  Yet  in  the  Senate  the  two  members 
for  this  little  community  are  of  equal  power  with  those  of  the 
greatest  state  in  the  Union  The  change  would  reverse  their 
position  and  have  the  effect  of  four  votes  on  a  division.  Tliis 
measure,  so  important  in  practical  result  and  so  easy  of  accom- 
plishment, so  sensible  and  useful  a  step,  is  not  attempted.  It 
is  too  narrow  a  field  for  enthusiasts ;  it  would  be  descending 
from  the  oratorical  to  the  useful,  from  profession  to  real  work. 

There  are  other  directions,  too,  in  which  we  should  expect  to 
see  the  fruits  of  a  real  desire  for  the  benefit  of  the  black.  There 
are  considerable  numbers  in  the  Northern  states  under  the  im- 
mediate eye  of  the  Abolitionists,  so  eager  for  the  welfare  of  all 
those  who  are  distant.  Large  numbers  of  these  are  in  a  state  of 
deplorable  poverty  and  degradation,  excluded  from  all  but  the 
lowest  pursuits,  treated  on  all  hands  with  aversion  and  con- 
tempt. Charity  begins  at  home.  The  benevolence  that  takes 
no  heed  of  suffering  within  its  reach,  in  order  to  occupy  itself 
with  distant  and  unattainable  objects,  may  spring  from  a  pure 
impulse,  but  it  takes  a  very  questionable  direction. 

And  Boston,  and  New  York,  which  are  the  head-quarters  of 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  103 

the  Abolitionists,  are  also,  strange  to  saj-,  the  head-quarters  of  the 
slave-trade.  Lord  Lyons  stated  in  September,  18G0,  that  in  the 
previous  eighteen  months  eighty-five  vessels  had  sailed  from 
American  ports  to  be  employed  in  the  slave-trade.  Of  ten 
vessels  captured  in  one  year  by  the  American  squadron  on  the 
coast  of  Africa,  seven  were  from  New  York.  It  is  well  known 
that  although  the  slaves  are  taken  to  Cuba,  the  slave-trade  is 
American,  carried  on  in  their  vessels,  with  their  capital,  and 
with  their  energy  and  nautical  skill.  Against  this  we  have  re- 
monstrated in  every  form  in  vain.  How  shall  we  account  for 
the  apathy  of  the  Abolitionists  at  liome?  It  is  impossible  to  fit 
out  vessels  with  the  bulky  eiiuipments  required  for  the  trade  so 
as  to  escape  detection  if  there  be  those  on  the  spot  who  are 
earnestly  alert.  But  this  again  would  be  descending  to  re- 
alities. 

Thus  we  find  it  the  practice  of  tlie  Northern  Abolitionists  to 
discard  all  practical  measures,  and  to  confine  their  operations  to 
oratory  and  invective.  What  rational  liope  is  there  of  sui'cess 
by  such  instruments?  It  is  plain  that  emancipation  can  never 
be  accomplished  without  the  consent  and  the  direct  action  of 
the  Southerners.  Against  their  will,  it  would  be  insurrection,  a 
servile  war  of  the  most  terrible  kind ;  and  if  a  war  of  e.Kter- 
mination  were  to  be  roused,  it  is  the  negro  tiiat  would  be  exter- 
minated. The  South  is  not  in  the  position'of  St.  Domingo  or 
Jamaica ;  the  whites  are  rather  moVe  than  two  to  one.  But  in 
addition  to  numbers,  they  are  in  possession  of  arms,  resolution, 
knowledge;  their  actual  power  in  such  a  conflict  would  be  as  six 
or  eight  to  one.  Many  of  them  in  remote  districts  would  doubt- 
less be  sacrificed  at  the  first  outbreak,  and  terrible  sufiering 
would  be  infiicted,  but  in  the  end  it  would  be  a  conflict  of  which 
none  can  doubt  the  issue.  Tlie  greater  part  of  the  negroes 
would  be  held  in  a  slavery  sharpened  by  the  event,  the  rest 
would  be  destroyed. 

Clearly,  then,  emancipation  is  impossible,  except  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  people  of  the  South.  Can  they  be  convinced  by 
reviling  them  V  Is  that  a  means  by  wliich  to  persuade  the 
reason  of  any  race  of  men?  At  all  times  it  is  dillicult  enough 
to  alter  opinion.s  that  are  the  result  .of  birth  and  association  ; 


104  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

and  when  they  coincide  with  interest,  or  imagined  interest,  the 
task  is  all  but  hopeless.  To  attempt  It  by  means  of  Invective 
and  abuse  is  the  last  extreme  of  folly.  Let  us  suppose  that  any 
one  of  our  institutions  excited  the  opposition  of  the  French, 
and  that  they  should  proceed  to  persuade  us  to  change  it  by 
pouring  upon  us  torrents  of  abuse;  Avhat  would  be  the  result? 
Clearly,  that  we  should  cling  to  it  with  far  more  than  the 
original  tenacity.  This  Is  precisely  what  has  happened  in  the 
South.  Originally,  slavery  was  on  the  defensive,  admitted  to  be 
an  evil  or  deplored  as  a  sad  necessity ;  but  stung  by  the  lan- 
guage of  the  North,  the  Southerners  have  turned  round  upon 
them  and  have  wrought  themselves  into  the  monstrous  belief 
now  prevalent  throughout  the  South,  that  slavery  Is  actually  a 
blessing,  an  institution  commendable  to  humanity,  and  one  to  be 
cherished  for  its  own  deserts. 

Originally,  the  action  of  the  Abolitionists,  confined  as  it  was  to 
a  small  number,  excited  angry  feeling,  but  very  little  political 
notice.  The  attempted  Insurrection,  of  which  John  Brown  was 
the  hero,  greatly  altered  this.  Miserable  as  was  its  failure,  and 
wretched  the  whole  enterprise,  as  an  act  of  any  reasoning  crea- 
tures, still  it  was  accepted  by  numbers  in  the  New  England  states 
as  an  act  of  heroism.  The  language  generally  used  in  allusion 
to  it,  and  that  not  by  Abolitionists  alone,  excited  a  deep  and 
abiding  feeling  In  the  South  —  a  conviction  that  between  the 
whole  Northern  population  and  themselves  there  yawned  an  im- 
passible gulf,  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  close,  and  certain  to 
grow  wider  year  by  year.  About  the  same  period  Helper's  book 
appeared,-  and  might  have  passed  unobserved,  but  for  the  ex- 
traordinary course  adopted  to  bring  it  into  notice.  It  was  rec- 
ommended for  circulation  by  the  signatures  of  no  fewer  than 
sixty-eight  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  also 
by  Mr.  Seward.  Much  of  It  is  a  mere  mass  of  rabid  froth ;  here 
and  there  a  striking  passage  may  be  found,  but  intermixed  with 
others  of  the  wildest  and  silliest  character.  How  men  of  expe- 
rience in  political  affairs,  with  the  remotest  idea  of  the  diffi- 
culties of  Immediate  emancipation  —  the  danger,  the  critical 
delicacy  of  the  subject — could  have  recommended  such  a  produc- 
tion as  this  is  indeed  hard  to  comprehend.     It  urges  the  North 


CATISES    OF    DISRUPTION.  105 

to  exterminate  slavery,  and  at  once,  without  the  slightest  com- 
pensation, in  language  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen, 
addressed  to  the  Southerners:  "Frown,  sirs;  fret,  foam,  prepare 
your  weapons,  threaten,  strike,  shoot,  stab,  bring  oi>  civil  war, 
dissolve  the  Union ;  nay,  annihilate  the  solar  system,  if  you 
will  —  do  all  this,  more,  less,  better,  worse  —  anything;  do  what 
you  will,  sirs  —  you  can  neither  foil  nor  intimidate  us;  our  pur- 
pose is  as  fixed  as  the  eternal  pillars  of  heaven  ;  we  have  deter- 
mined to  abolish  slavery,  and  —  so  help  us  God  —  abolish  it  we 
will." 

We  have  seen  how  enormous  are  the  interests  at  stake ;  how 
gigantic  the  amount  of  property  in  jeopardy,  the  whole  6f  which 
exists  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  the  sanction  of 
its  Constitution.  Let  us  see  how  the  Abolitionists  propose  to 
deal  with  it.  This  man  Helper  writes :  "  Compensation  to 
slave- owners  for  negroes.  Prepostei'ous  idea  —  the  suggestion  is 
criminal,  the  demand  inijust,  wicked,  monstrous,  danniable. 
Shall  we  j)at  the  blood-hounds  for  the  sake  of  doing  them  a 
favor?  Shall  we  fee  the  curs  of  slavery  to  make  them  rich  at 
our  expense  ?  Pay  these  whelps  for  the  privilege  of  converting 
them  into  decent,  honest,  upright  men  ?"  In  other  passages 
they  are  compared  with  "mad  dogs"  —  with  "small-pox,  as 
nuisances  to  be  abated;"  they  are  classed  with  gangs  of  "  li- 
censed robbers,"  "  thieves,"  and  "  murderers,"  and  addressed  in 
terms  and  insulted  with  epithets  such  as  none,  however  disinter- 
ested, can  read  without  strong  feelings  of  indignation. 

This  is  the  wretched  ribaldry  approved  by  Mr.  Seward  and 
Mr.  Sherman,  the  two  leading  politicians  of  the  North,  they 
knowing  it  to  be  addressed  to  their  fellow-citizens  —  a  people  of 
eight  millions  in  number — the  fellow-countrymen  of  AVashington, 
Madison,  and  Jeflei'son  ;  and  simply  because  they  continue  to 
be  what  those,  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic,  were.  Can  we 
wonder  that  such  language  as  this  should  incense  mortal  men ; 
or  that  when  they  found  those  who  approved  of  and  endorsed  it 
exalted  to  power  they  should  indeed  conclude  that  fellowship 
with  such  was  no  bond  of  love,  but,  as  others  have  termed  it,  a 
"union  of  hate?"  What  could  result  from  such  language  and 
principles  as  .these  but  woe  to  the  slave  and  destruction  to  the 
Union  ? 


lOG  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

The  ablest  intellect  the  North  has  produced  all  will  admit  to 
be  that  of  Daniel  Webster.  In  1851  he  spoke  thus:  "  It  is  said 
by  a  class  of  men  to  whom  I  have  referred  that  the  Constitution 
is  born  of  hell;  that  it  was  the  work  of  the  devil;  and  that 
Washington  was  a  miserable  blood-hound  set  upon  the  track  of 
the  African  slave.  Men  who  utter  such  sentiments  as  these  are 
ready  at  any  moment  to  destroy  the  charter  of  our  liberties,  of 
all  your  happiness,  and  of  all  your  hope.  They  are  either  in- 
sane or  fatally  bent  on  mischief."  Insanity  is  a  sad  thing,  but 
there  is  one  form  of  it  that  is  execrable  —  that  is,  sham  insanity. 
One  of  the  chief  leaders  of  the  Abolitionists,  on  the  4th  July, 
1856,  undertook  "  to  register  a  pledge  before  heaven  to  do  what 
within  him  lay  to  effect  the  eternal  overthrow  of  the  blood- 
stained Union."  This  ver}'  man  is  now  taking  an  active  part  in 
support  of  the  war  to  maintain  that  "blood-stained"  Union. 
Had  Daniel  Webster  lived  to  this  day,  he  Avould  have  seen  that 
some  of  those  lie  spoke  of  as  insane  were  only  making  a  trade  of 
their  insanity. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  some  of  this  spirit  of  mere  fanati- 
cism has  crossed  over,  and  crept  into  the  press  of  this  country. 
We  find  it  difficult  to  account  for  the  sudden  violence  with 
which  the  subject  has  been  discussed  in  some  directions.  At  the 
worst,  slavei'y  is  only  the  same  thing  now  that  it  was  last  year 
in  the  Union.  It  is  no  peculiar  iniquity  of  the  Southern  states. 
Brazil  escapes  these  invectives.  Spain  is  a  slave-holding  and 
slave-trading  country.  Turkey,  our  recent  ally,  is  by  no  means 
free  from  it.  France  held  slaves  within  the  memory  of  ail  who 
are  not  children,  and,  as  we  know,  has  carried  on  a  slave-trade 
in  disguise  within  the  last  two  years.  Nay,  are  we,  as  a  people, 
to  forget  that  we,  too,  were  slave-owners  within  a  period  not  yet 
remote,  and  that  our  own  slavery  was  far  more  harsh  than  that 
of  the  Southern  states,  as  the  relative  statistics  clearly  prove  ? 
Are  we  to  forget  that  our  own  hands  inflicted  this  injury  upon 
the  people?  The}',  indeed,  might  justly  vent  their  indignation 
upon  us,  and  cast  on  us  the  reproach  tliat  we  planted  this  evil  in 
the  soil.  But  what  right  have  we  to  pour  out  invectives  upon 
those  who  are  simply  the  victims  of  our  own  wrong?  Is  there 
an  epithet  in  all  the  vocabulary  discharged  upon  the  South  that 


CAUSES    OF    PISRUPTIO.V.  K)7 

does  not  reflect  upon  the  memory  of  our  own  fathers?  Is  it  a 
rcasonal)le  thing  to  visit  others  with  denunciations  because  they 
do  not  terminate  that  which  we  cannot  tell  them  how  to  end  ? 
The  crime  of  slavery  lies  in  the  creation  of  it — that  was  our  act. 
If  some  one  should  turn  a  flood  of  noxious  gas  into  a  chan\ber, 
and  those  within  should  reel  and  stagger  under  its  poisonous 
cfFect,  whom  should  we  visit  with  our  wrath,  and  to  whom  lend 
some  little  consideration  ? 

Further,  are  we  really  sincere  in  desiring  to  improve  the  con- 
dition of  the  negro,  and  to  obtain  for  him,  if  it  be  a  possible 
thing,  the  inestimable  boon  of  freedom  ?  If  so,  how  is  it  to  be 
accomplished?  One  thing  is  plain  to  all  men,  that  the  method 
of  abuse  employed  has  had  but  the  natural  effect  of  aggravating 
the  evils  of  slavery.  With  such  experience  before  us,  shall  we 
pick  up  these  old  weapons  to  use  them  second-hand  ?  Is  the 
language  of'  American  Abolitionists  such  that  we  should  desire 
to  enrich  our  lite\;ature  with  imitations,  or  is  their  discretion  so 
obvious  that  Ave  do  well  to  take  their  judgment  as  a  guide  ?  Is 
there  no  new  path,  as  yet  unexplored,  that  at  least  is  not  known 
to  be  hopeless  ? 

There  is  such  a  course,  which  may  be  takeii,  too,  with  some 
rational  prospect  of  success;  for  the  secession  of  tlie  South,  fol- 
lowed as  it  inevitably  must  be  by  its  independence,  affords  the 
firet  gleam  of  hope  that  has  dawned  in  America  upon  the  negro 
race.  We  have  seen  that  the  restoration  of  the  Union  would 
shut  out  all  poisibility  of  benefit  to  the  slave.  We  have  seen 
that  the  Constitution  as  it  stands  permits  no  hope;  that  both  the 
President  and  the  Congress  have  expressed  their  perfect  willing- 
ness to  add  fresh  props  in  support  of  slavery  ;  that  it  is  intended 
to  render  it  irrevocable  so  far  as  Federal  legislation  can  make  it 
so.  But  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  a  restoration  of  the 
Union,  were  it  to  occur  at  the  issue  of  the  present  war,  would 
involve  an  arrangement  of  conditions  of  peace.  However 
speedily  that  might  happen,  the  cost  and  danger  of  the  war  to 
the  North  would  have  been  sufficient.  The  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment would  be  to  avert  a  fresh  outbreak  by  every  conceiva- 
ble privilege.  The  supreme  object  would  be  to  buy  or  bribe 
back  the   affections  of  the   estranged   partner,  and  efface   the 


108  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

blttei"  memories  of  the  past.  Within  limits  to  be  imposed  only 
by  a  sense  of  shame,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  concessions  too 
great  to  be  granted.  In  all  this  there  is  little  hope  for  the  slave. 
Every  flaAV  in  every  link  of  his  fetters  would  be  welded  anew. 
Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  rise  from  the  perusal  of  the  evidence  on 
this  subject  without  the  conviction  that,  but  for  the  opprobrium 
of  such  an  act,  the  Northern  power  would  be  ready,  very  ready, 
to  assent  to  the  reopening  of  the  slave-trade,  if  that  were  de- 
manded, as  a  bribe  for  retui*n  to  the  Union  and  to  cordiality. 
The  Abolitionists  would  be  cast  aside  without  a  thought,  but  not 
extinguished.  Ill-judged,  fanatical,  as  the  action  of  that  party 
has  been,  there  is  truth  at  the  bottom  of  its  principles,  and  that 
cannot  be  extingushed.  The  South,  therefore,  would  be  in  a 
condition  to  maintain  its  system,  strengthened  with  additional 
powers  to  wreak  upon  the  slave,  if  so.  disposed,  the  rancor  of 
defeat,  while  the  old  irritation  would  still  be  kept  up  as  a  sore 
festering  in  its  side.  In  all  this  the  most  sanguine  enthusiast 
may  abandon,  without  delay,  any  hope  of  advantage  to  the 
negro. 

But  a  far  different  prospect  is  opened  by  another  view  of  the 
future.  If  the  Southern  Confederacy  maintain  its  indepen- 
dence, it  will  become  its  strongest  desire  to  be  received  into  the 
family  of  independent  powers.  It  will  clearly  be  allowable  to 
our  government  when  acknowledging  that  independence  to 
obtain  engagements  in  relation  to  slavery.  Apart  from  the 
difficult  subject  of  absolute  emancipation  (and  in  any  rational 
view  of  the  case,  as  necessary  preliminaries  to  it),  there  are 
many  less  striking,  but  really  important  changes,  which  are 
clearly  practicable,  and  which  would  ameliorate  at  once  the 
condition  of  the  slave,  lessen  his  degradation,  and  educate  him 
for  further  advances  toward  fi-eedom.  These  changes  could  be 
made,  too,  without  appreciable  loss  to  the  owner. 

An  exchange  from  slavery  into  serfdom  would  involve  no 
insuperable  difficulties.  To  pi'event  the  separation  of  husband 
from  wife,  or  parent  from  cliild  ;  to  siibstitute  taskwork  for  un- 
measured labor ;  to  devise  means  for  the  prevention  of  cruel 
treatment — in  short,  to  end  the  barbarities  of  the  system  of 
slavery,  all  this  could  be  done  with  immeasurable  advantage  to 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION.  109 

the  negro,  aiid  no  real  detriment  to  the  owner.  It  is  true  tliat 
the  government  of  the  Southern  states  j)0ssesses  no  power  o\er 
this  subject,  whieh  rests  exchisively  with  tlie  indiviihial  states. 
But  supported  by  European  opinion,  it  will  have  a  large  iuflu- 
enee  with  the  state  legislatures,  and  may  honorably  engage  to 
cxereise  that  influenee.  Tlie  over  sea  s'ave-trade  is  absolutely 
prohibited  by  the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  states,  and  all 
know  how  much  can  be  done  if  once  there  be  <v  willing  temper. 
The  same  course  which  a  man  will  indignantly  refuse  when 
demanded  by  an  abusive  antagonist  he  will  enter  upon  readily 
when  invited  in  the  tones  of  earnest  and  friendly  counsel. 

To  any  sucdi  suggestions  to  the  government  of  a  reconstructed 
Union  the  reply  may  be  easily  jiredicted.  We  should  be  warned 
of  the  presumption  of  attempting  to  interfere  in  matters  entirely 
domestic;  we  should  be  reminded  of  the  condition  of  various 
classes  at  home ;  some  allusion  miglit  be  made  to  tiie  Declaration 
of  Independence — possibly  to  Ireland  ;  finally,  the  star  spangled 
banner  would  wave  over  the  whole.  Let  us  suppose  the  same 
suggestions  to  be  made  to  the  government  of  the  new  power.  If 
made  in  an  earnest,  and  yet  friendly  tone,  the  probable  reply 
would  be  :  "  Our  system  of  labor,  right  or  wrong,  we  have  no 
immediate  power  to  alter.  But  we  desire  to  obtain  the  respect 
of  other  states,  and  especially  of  those  whose  good  will  is  essen- 
tial to  our  welfare,  by  making  at  once  those  amendments  in  it 
that  are  within  our  reach.  We  cannot  desire  a  state  of  perma- 
nent conflict  Avith  the  opinions  of  all  the  great  civilized  powers. 
We  inherit  a  position  we  have  not  made  and  cannot  escape 
from  at  will ;  but  as  far  as  our  means  extend  we  will  endeavor 
to  respond  to  the  suggestions  of  friendly  powers,  and  to  enter 
into  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age." 

There  is  a  ground  of  ho])e  in  the  division  of  the  Union  to 
which  some  attach  considerable  weight.  It  is  argued  that  when 
the  North  becomes  a  foreign  power  it  will  be  impossible  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  slaves,  and  that  this  must  insure  the  downfall 
of  the  system.  This  impression  is  a  natural  one  on  a  cursory  view 
of  the  subject,  but  will  not  bear  examination.  The  relative  po- 
sition of  the  slave  and  free  states  will  be  the  same.  There  is  an 
underground  railway  now.    The  fugitive  slave  law  has  been  met 


110  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

by  personal  liberty  bills  already.  One  of  the  most  material 
changes  that  will  result  from  a  separation  will  be  the  formation 
of  a  strong  government  in  the  North.  A  vtry  prominent  con- 
dition of  peace  will  doubtless  be  the  rendition  of  slaves.  But 
such  a  condition  would  then  be  enforced  by  a  strong  govern- 
ment and  demanded  by  a  rival  power.  Again,  the  agitation 
against  slavery,  though  it  will  continue,  will  cease  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  party  pqlitics,  and  this  will  remove  from  it  the  main 
element  of  its  powers.  In  truth  there  is  but  one  means  by 
which  emancipation  can  he  effected,  and  that  is  by  the  free  will 
and  desire  of  the  Southerners  themselves. 

That  this  may  ever  come  about  is  not  so  hopeless  as  at  first 
may  appear.  The  slave-owner  has  no  particular  love  for  slave- 
hibor ;  there  is  no  pleasure  in  it  like  that  which  a  man  enjoys  in 
looking  upon  his  manor.  With  the  great  majority  it  is  simply  a 
question  of  producing  cotton  at  a  cost  for  labor  of  so  much  per 
pound.  Assume,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  including  inter- 
est, maintenance,  and  all  other  items,  slave  labor  costs  three- 
pence per  pound  of  cleaned  cotton  ;  then  if  the  planter  be  sup- 
plied with  labor  equally  steady,  at  the  same  cost  per  pound,  it 
will  not  concern  him  whether  it  be  that  of  the  free  man  or  the 
slave.  It  follows  from  this  that  if  the  Southerner  be  once  re- 
lieved from  that  bitterness  of  spirit  under  the  influence  of  which 
he  is  deaf  to  reason — if  enabled  to  return  to  the  original  temper 
of  the  days  of  Washington,  before  fanaticism  had  worked  its 
evils  upon  him  and  upon  the  slave,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
difficulty  is  really  one  of  detail.  The  great  obstacle  lies  in  the 
fact  already  pointed  out,  that  there  is  no  physical  labor  without 
compulsion,  and  that  this  compulsion  is  absent  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  South.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  make  a  slave  free, 
but  just  as  difficult  to  make  him  industrious  when  free.  There 
is  ample  proof  of  this  in  the  present  state  of  Hayti  when  com- 
pared with  the  magnificence  of  its  commerce  when  a  possession 
of  France.  Two  years  sufficed  to  sweep  civilization  away. 
None  profess  as  their  object  the  freedom  of  the  black,  that  it 
may  be  used  merely  as  the  power  of  lapsing  into  the  idleness  of 
the  African  savage,  of  squatting  in  swamps  and  basking  in  the 
sun.     It  is  assumed  that  he  is  to  be  both  free  and  iudustrious. 


CAUSES    OF    DISKUrXIOX.  Ill 

But  as  no  1  aboring  class  is  really  so  from  choice,  and  least  of  all 
a  race  of  tropical  origin,  and  as  the  circumstances  that  enforce 
work  in  Europe  hardly  exist  in  the  South,  it  follows  that  their 
place  must  be  supplied  by  regulations,  by  laws  carefully  devised, 
the  true  olTect  of  which  would  be  to  place  the  free  black  in  the 
position  of  the  laboring  man  in  Europe — simply  that  he  must 
work  or  want. 

In  carrying  this  out,  the  large  quantity  of  unoccupied  land  in 
the  states  presents  formidable  difllculties.  But  these  exist  in 
Russia  where  serfdom — and  that  on  a  scale  far  more  vast — is  at 
the  present  day  passing  into  freedom.  What  is  eflecting  that 
beneficent  change  there  ?  The  same  inlluence  which  alone  can 
effect  it  and  which  may  yet  effect  it  in  the  Southern  states — the 
power  of  public  opinion.  And  why  has  it  had  no  influence 
upon  them  up  to  the  jjresent  time?  Because  it  could  not  reach 
them.  An  able  Northern  writer  arguing  against  secession,  after 
describing  all  that  the  Union  had  done  for  the  South,  remarks : 
"  And  it  has  shielded  their  peculiar  institution  from  the  hatred 
and  hostility  of  the  civilized  world."  This  is  the  truth  —  the 
Union  has  been  the  shield  of  slavery.-  It  has  been  sheltered 
under  the  wing  of  the  American  Eagle.  Dissolve  the  Union, 
and  it  must  stand  unshielded,  uncloaked,  in  the  light  of  open 
day.  When  thus  placed  face  to  face  with  public  opinion,  who 
will  doubt  which  must  ultimately  prevail  ? 

What  institution  exists  that  can  permanently  confront  it  ? 
Invisible,  intangible,  that  none  can  guage,  or  measure,  or  pic- 
ture, or  define — who  is  there  that  is  impenetrable  to  its  .influ- 
ence or  able  to  withstand  its  power  ?  The  Emperor  of  France, 
at  the  head  of  all  his  legions,  shrinks  from  this  encounter.  What 
overthrew  slavery  in  our  own  dominions,  or  in  the  colonies  of 
other  powers?  It  was  not  governments,  nor  politicians,  nor 
planters,  nor  philosophy,  but  simply  this  irresistible  power.  But 
by  pubKu;  opinion  we  do  not  mean  wild  excitement  or  rash 
theories.  These  are  the  froth  of  breaking  waves,  not  the  ma- 
jestic ocean.  We  mean  that  which  expresses  the  united  senti- 
ment of  the  thoughtful  and  intelligent  —  that  which  embodies, 
not  the  passions,  but  the  mind  of  the  enlightened  world.     Pa- 


112  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

tient — .considerate  —  prepared  to  weigh  difficulties  —  to  provide 
for  consequences — to  appreciate  rights ;  but  at  the  same  time 
firm  —  irresistible  —  it  will  say  with  unimpassioned  but  autliori- 
tative  voice  —  the  time  has  come  when  this  old,  sad  blot  upon 
humanity  must  stain  it  no  more. 


I 


ChapterV. 
CAUSES  OF  DISRUPTION— TARIFFS. 

The  rebellion  of  the  American  colonies  against  the  rule  of 
this  country,  whatever  its  real  motives,  occurred  ostensibly  on  a 
question  of  duties.  Thirty  3-ears  ago  the  disruption  xjf  the 
Union,  unless  it  had  been  maintained  by  force,  would  have 
resulted  from  a  tariff,  but  for  concessions  made  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, which  averted  the  event.  With  these  facts  in  recol- 
lection we  shall  be  disposed  to  attach  very  serious  importance 
to  this  subject.  Of  all  the  causes  of  the  convulsion  it  has  pro- 
bably had  the  greatest  weight  upon  the  mind  of  the  Southern 
people,  although  the  other  causes  we  have  considered  have  had 
much  more  influence  in  exciting  their  feelings. 

The  following  clauses  of  the  Constitution  bear  upon  this  sub- 
ject: Section  8,  Art.  1,  provides  that  "'all  duties,  imports,  and 
excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States."  Section 
9,  Art.  5,  ordains  that  "No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  upon 
articles  exported  from  any  state.  No  preference  shall  be  given, 
by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue,  to  the  ports  of  one 
state  over  those  of  another."  Here  it  is  plainly  the  object  to 
forbid  any  course  of  legislation  by  means  of  which  a  preferential 
advantage  might  be  given  to  any  section  of  the  country.  The 
obvious  spirit  of  these  clauses  is  not  so  much  that  duties  should 
be  uniform  in  rate,  but  uniform  in  effect — that  their  incidence 
should  bear  evenly  upon  all.  It  would  be  idle  to  dispute  that  it 
was  intended  to  prohibit  preference  to  interests  as  well  as  pref- 
erence to  ports.  The  denial  of  power  to  levy  an  export  duty 
clearly  proves  tliis. 

At  the  period  when  the  Constitution  was  framed  the  whole  of 
the  states  were  agricultural,  and  imported  manufactures.    Duties 
levied  on  Imports  affected,  therefore,  all  alike.     But  their  posi- 
10 


114  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tion  was  very  different  in  the  direction  of  export  trade.  As  a 
natural  result  of  such  great  diversity  of  climate  and  soil,  their 
products,  instead  of  being  common  to  all,  were  special  and  pecu- 
liar to  certain  districts.  An  export  duty  upon  any  article  would 
have  affected  the  section  of  the  country  which  produced  that 
commodity,  to  the  exemption  of  the  rest.  Thus,  if  levied  upon 
rice,  it  would  have  been  a  special  tax  on  South  Carolina ;  or  if 
upon  tobacco,  Virginia  would  have  borne  the  burthen.  Noth- 
ing can  be  clearer  than  the  principle  of  the  Constitution  on  this 
point,  that  all  duties  shall  be  so  imposed  as  to  affect  the  respec- 
tive states  equally;  that  "preference"  of  any  kind  should  be 
avoided ;  and  that  where  the  imposition  of  a  duty,  as  upon 
exports,  would  of  necessity  be  unequal  in  its  effect,  the  power  to 
impose  it  under  any  circumstances  should  .be  absolutely  and  for 
ever  denied.  We  shall  see  the  respect  with  which  these  prin- 
ciples of  the  Constitution  have  been  treated,  and  the  justice  with 
which  they  have  been  carried  out. 

For  many  years  agriculture  continued  to  be  the  common  in- 
terest of  all  the  states,  and  the  earlier  tariffs  are  moderate  in  the 
extreme.  The  prevailing  rule  was  a  duty  on  manufactured 
goods  of  five  to  seven  and  a  half  per  cent. ;  the  first  duty,  for 
instance,  on  iron  being  five  per  cent.,  a  trifle  that  would  hardly 
be  visible  to  the  eye  of  the  Pennsylvanian  monopolist  of  the 
present  day.  But  the  war  with  this  country  in  1813  greatly 
altered  the  industrial  position  of  the  respective  states.  During 
its  continuance  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  supplies  of  manufac- 
tured goods,  for  we  not  only  ceased  to  supply  them,  but  the 
blockade  of  the  ports  which  we  instituted  prevented  their  acces§ 
from  other  countries.  This  led  to  a  large  extension  of  home 
manufactures,  previously  confined,  in  the  main,  to  the  coarser 
and  less  valuable  class  of  articles.  But  this  new  direction  taken 
by  the  industry  of  the  country  was  not  common  to  the  whole  of 
the  states.  The  Northern  states  not  only  took  the  lead  in  it,  but 
it  became  in  their  hands  a  virtual  monopoly.  Their  climate 
cold,  free  labor,  water-power,  and  beyond  even  tliese,  the  energy 
and  inventive  genius  of  the  race,  formed  a  combination  of  the 
elements  of  manufacturing  power  with  which,  in  the  South,  it 
was  impossible  to  contend.     There  was  neither  the  ability  nor 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUI'TION TARIFFS.  115 

the  desire  to  do  so.  Hence,  there  eame  to  be  two  distinct  inter- 
ests, nianufacturin<T  and  ajrriciiltural  —  by  no  means  natnrally 
antagonistic;  on  the  contrary,  capable  of  existing  harmoniously, 
to  great  mutual  advantage.  That  such  should  be  their  relation 
to  each  other  simjily  retjuired  that  the  obvious  principles  of  the 
Constitution  should  be  maintained.  The  injustice  of  the  North- 
ern monopolists  has  turned  them  into  bitter  opponents. 

The  return  of  peace  brought  the  inevitable  result  of  abun- 
dant supplies,  whii'h  poured  in  with  all  the  force  of  previous 
accumulation.  Distress  followed  to  the  new  manufacturing  in- 
terests, as  yet  feeble  and  ill  developed,  and  there  was  an  appre- 
hension that  they  would  be  altogether  annihilated.  A  natural 
desire  existed  on  all  sides  to  avert  this  extreme.  Under  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  it  would  be  difficult  to  show  that  a 
moderate  degree  of  protection  was  not  fairly  permissible,  as  cal- 
culated to  produce  advantage  to  the  Union  as  a  whole.  This 
view  was  taken,  indeed,  by  the  Southern  states.  It  was  gener- 
ally admitted  that  the  moderate,  yet  important  protection  which 
accrued  as  a  natural  incident  of  revenue  duties,  was  beneficial 
to  the  country.  Nor  was  there  wanting  a  disposition  to  go 
cheerfully  beyond  this.  Calhoun,  tlie  ablest  statesman  of  the 
South,  was  in  favor  of  a  moderate  degree  of  protection  for  its 
own  sake.  He  held  that  the  special  disadvantage  endured  by 
the  Southern  states  was  counterbalanced  by  the  benefit  they 
enjoyed  in  shaj-ing.  the  national  prosperity.  At  that  period  the 
theory  of  protection  was  accepted  in  all  countries,  and  the  belief 
was  universal  that  the  supremacy  of  this  country  in  manufac- 
tures had  resulted  from  it.  There  was  a  natural  desire  that  the 
country  should  be  freed  from  the  entire  dependence  on  foreign 
imports  in  which  it  had  previously  stood ;  and  we  find  that  the 
South  has  in  no  instance  objected  to  a  moderate  degree  of  pro- 
tection, or  scrutinized  the  tariffs  narrowly.  The  objection  has 
been  raised  against  the  excess  and  abuse  which  soon  came  into 
existence.  We  cannot  find  that  the  Southern  states  in  any  of 
the  tarift"  contests  commenced  their  opposition  until  the  system 
had  really  degenerated  into  the  gross  favoritism  of  small,  but 
politically  i)Owerful  interests,  at  their  expense. 

The  system  once  Introduced,  soou  yielded  its  natural  results. 


116  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Monopoly  is  one  of  those  good  things  of  which  he  who  has  an 
inch  soon  wants  an  ell.  The  protectionist  of.  early  days  was  not 
long  in  expanding  his  views  and  increasing  his  demands.  And 
although  the  evils  we  have  described  were  far  from  reaching 
their  present  dimensions,  still  excess  in  all  things,  exaggeration, 
and  idolatry  of  self  were  already  becoming  prominent  features, 
of  character.  When  growing  general  in  other  directions,  they 
were  little  likely  to  be  absent  where  they  coincided  with  per- 
sonal advantage.  The  idea  of  a  moderate  system  generally 
beneficial  to  the  industry  of  the  countrj^,  without  grievous  hard- 
ship to  any  particular  class,  became  altered  into  the  reality  of 
corrupt  political  bargains  between  special  interests,  to  impose 
heavy  taxation  on  all  others  for  their  own  profit. 

The  first  contest  of  serious  importance  occurred  in  the  year 
1823.  The  duties  imposed  by  the  tariff  of  1816  were  highly 
protective,  and  under  them  the  manufacturing  interest  had 
made  great  progress,  and  acquired  considerable  political  strength. 
Instead  of  being  contented  with  the  advantages  thus  conferred, 
the  first  manifestation  of  this  power  was  to  demand  still .  more 
protection.  Accordingly,  in  the  session  of  1823,  a  large  increase 
was  proposed  to  many  of  the  existing  duties,  and  proposed  in 
such  manner  that  none  could  fail  to  discern  the  real  object; 
The  people  of  the  South  became  reluctant  to  submit  to  the 
exaggeration  of  a  system  which  was  assuming  the  reality  of  a 
tribute,  to  be  paid  by  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  North.  They 
resisted  this  increase  of  the  duties  strenuously,  but  it  was  carried 
against  them,  though  by  bare  majorities  of  107  to  102  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  25  to  21  in  the  Senate.  It  would 
have  been  impossible  to  carry  it,  but  for  an  alliance  of  interests 
on  the  "  log-rolling"  principle,  such  as  we  shall  recognize  when 
we  come  to  the  Morrill  tariff.  A  Presidential  election  was  im- 
pending, and  the  interests  of  the  general  community  or  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution  were  equally  disregarded  in  pur- 
suit of  party  objects. 

The  political  jobbery  by  which  the  measure  was  carried  was 
well-known  to  all  parties:  such  things  are  not  secret  in  Amer- 
ica. It  was  well  known  to  the  South,  and  did  not  tend  to  allay 
the  general  apprehension  which  now  existed  there,  that  step  by 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION TARIFFS.  117 

step  the  system  had  stealthily  grown  up,  until  it  had  become  a 
great  political  power,  invariably  to  be  exerted  against  their 
interests,  and  pushed  to  an  extreme  of  gross  injustice.  In  1<S28 
another  struggle  occurred,  the  effects  of  which  have  never  been 
effaced.  The  interest  now  soliciting  further  protection  was  the 
manufacture  of  textile  fabrics;  but  in  order  to  obtain  support 
against  a  strong  opposition,  other  articles  were  admitted  —  the 
hemp  of  Kentucky,  the  lead  of  Missouri;  so  that  it  became. a 
general  bounty,  to  be  paid  by  the  agricultural  interest,  to  the 
benefit  of  the  manufacturers  and  their  allies.  On  this  occasion 
in  the  debate  in  tlie  House  of  Representatives,  the  opinions  and 
strong  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  South  were  expressed  in  the 
folFowing  terms,  not  a  little  remarkable  in  their  prophetic  allu- 
sion to  an  event  occurring  at  the  present  day:  "  If  the  union  of 
these  states  shall  ever  be  severed  and  their  liberties  subverted, 
the  historian  who  records  those  tlisasters  will  have  to  ascribe 
them  to  measures  of  this  description.  I  do  sincerely  believe  that 
neither  this  government,  nor  any  free  government,  can  exist  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century  under  such'  a  system  of  legislation.  Its 
inevitable  tendency  is  to  corrupt  not  only  the  public  functiona- 
ries, but  all  those  portions  of  the  Union  and  classes  of  society 
who  have  ^n  interest,  real  or  imaginary,  in  the  bounties  it  pro- 
vides by  taxing  other  nations  and  other  classes.  It  brings 
ambition,  and  avarice,  and  wealth  into  a  combination  it  is  fear- 
ful to  contemplate,  because  it  is  impossible  to  resist." 

The  truth  of  these  words  few  will  deny.  It  is  now  more  than 
thirty  years  since  they  were  uttered,  during  all  which  time  this 
system  has  continued.  The  full  term  of  a  "  quarter  of  a  century  " 
has  therefore  run  out.  In  this  contest  of  1828  a  prominent  part 
was  taken — indeed,  the  plan  of  the  campaign  was  devised  by  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  We  shall  find  the  same  state  taking  an 
equally  distinguished  lead  on  the  present  occasion.  What  her 
selfishness  can  be,  and  what  is  her  sense  of  justice,  the  world 
knows  already,  in  the  wide  association  of  her  name  with  that  of 
repudiation.  In  the  Morrill  tarifl"  we  shall  also  find  a  rare  speci- 
men of  her  legislative  ability. 

The  tariff  came  again  under  revision  in  1832.  On  this  occa- 
sion, in  consequence  of  the  excessive  duties  having  produced  a 


118  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

surplus  of  income,  it  was  necessary  to  reduce  them.  It  was  now 
the  object  of  the  monopolists  to  contrive  the  reductions  so  as  not 
to  diminish  the  bounties  on  manufactures.  The  injustice  of  this 
was  so  obvious  that  an  arduous  struggle  ensued,  the  South  con- 
tending that  the  relief  should  be  evenly  distributed,  so  as  to 
affect  all  alike.  The  views  entertained  there  were  expressed  by 
Mr.  Hayne,,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the  following  words:  "  I  call 
upon  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  of  the  House  to  meet  us  in  the 
true  spirit  of  conciliation  and  concession.  Remove,  I  earnestly 
beseech  you,  from  among  us,  this  never  failing  source  of  conten- 
tion. Dry  up  at  its  source  this  fountain  of  the  waters  of  bitter- 
ness. Restore  that  harmony  which  has  been  disturbed,  that 
mutual  affection  and  confidence  which  have  been  impaired. 
And  it  is  in  your  power  to  do  it  this  day,  by  doing  equal  justice 
to  all.  And  be  assured  that  he  to  whom  the  country  shall  be 
indebted  for  this  blessing  will  be  considered  as  the  second 
founder  of  the  republic.  He  will  be  regarded  in  all  after-times 
as  the  ministering  spirit,  visiting  the  troubled  waters  of  our 
political  dissensions,  and  restoring  to  the  element  its  healing 
virtue."  But  what  effect  could  such  appeals  have  on  a  majority 
impelled  by  mercenary  interests  ?  The  act  passed  in  all  its 
injustice,  to  be  followed  by  consequences  little  foreseen. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  South  this  tariff  was  regarded 
with  indignation ;  and  this,  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
found  a  vent  in  ver}'  determined  measures.  A  convention  was 
called  by  her  people,  which  proceeded  to  pass  an  ordinance  de- 
claring the  tariff  null  and  void,  on  the  ground  that  Congress 
"  had  exceeded  its  just  powers  under  the  Constitution,  which 
confers  on  it  no  authority  to  afford  such  protection ;  and  had 
violated  the  true  meaning  and  intent  of  the  Constitution,  which 
provides  tor  equality  in  imposing  the  burthens  of  taxation  upon 
the  several  states."  It  happened  that  at  this  critical  period  the 
Presidential  chair  was  occupied  by  a  man  of  great  natural  vigor 
and  resolution — Jackson — who  throughout  the  danger  displayed 
sound  judgment.  The  tariff'  had  been  passed  in  opposition  to 
his  views,  being  himself  a  Southerner.  While  he  at  once  con- 
demned, in  able  terms,  the  conduct  of  the  state,  he  at  the  same 
time  introduced  into  Congress  a  bill  to  remove  the  grievance. 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION — TARIFFS.  119 

This  bill  slumbered  in  tlie  House  lor  some  time;  but  at  length 
news  arrived  that  South  Carolina  was  armin<r  her  militia,  and 
preparing  for  defi'neo.  On  this  a  measure  was  introdueed  by 
Mr.  Clay,  and  pushed  through  with  unpreeedented  rapidity,  by 
an  evasion  of  the  rules.  It  effected  a  large,  though  gradual 
reduction  of  the  duties  upon  manufactures ;  and  by  this  conces- 
sion the  danger  was  averted.  South  Carolina  was  satisfied  with 
it,  and  the  crisis  passed  away. 

That  the  state  was  right,  so  far  as  justice  is  concerned,  few 
will  now  deny.  It  is  admitted  by  the  ablest  Northern  writers  of 
the  present  day.  Indeed,  the  injustice  of  the  duties  imposed 
was  subsequently  proved  in  a  remarkable  manner;  for,  even  at 
the  reduced  rates,  they  still  produced  an  excess  of  income,  and 
led  to  a  surfeit  of  the  treasury,  which  became  a  perplexing  diffi- 
culty. But  although  right  in  her  arguments,  the  line  of  action 
adopted  was  quite  indefensible.  To  declare  a  law  of  the  govern- 
ment void,  and  yet  remain  under  tliat  government  and  accept 
its  benefits,  is  plainly  opposed  to  reason.  Assuming  the  law  to 
be  uncotistitutional,  there  was  the  redress  of  the  Supreme  court. 
Secession  stands  upon  very  different  grounds.  It  is  the  act  of  a 
state  in  its  sovereign  capacity,  of  a  nature  beyond  the  compe- 
tence of  that  tribunal.  It  maj'-be  grounded  in  geographical 
reasons,  or  otiier  motives  which  laws  cannot  cure.  There  is  also 
ihuch  in  the  Constitution  that  forbids  the  violation  of  laws,  but 
there  is  nothing  in  it,  as  we  shall  find,  that  Ibrbids  a  state  to 
retire  from  its  connection  with  those  laws  altogether. 

The  terms  of  this  last  tariff  of  1833  were  understood  on  all 
sides  to  be  a  final  settK-nicnt  of  the  cpiestion.  Under  its  provis- 
ions the  high  duties  on  manutactures  slowly  but  surely  decreased. 
At  length  the  period  arrived  when  the  full  benefit  of  these  re- 
ductions should  be  enjoyed  by  the  South.  In  the  interval, 
however,  a  concession  had  been  made,  which  greatly  reduced 
the  income  arising  from  the  sale  of  public  lands,  the  only  source 
of  Federal  revenue  ajiart  from  customs  duties.  The  expenditure 
of  the  government  had  also  largely  increased;  and  thus  in  1842 
the  impoverished  condition  of  the  treasuiy  afforded  a  pretext  to 
repudiate  the  settlement,  and  again  to  advance  the  duties  on 
manufactures. 


12U  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  fiscal  system  of  the  United  States 
has  been  continuously  protective,  to  the  profit  of  Northern  man- 
ufacturers at  the  cost  of  the  Southern  agriculturalist.  The  sub- 
ject has  been  frequently  overwhelmed  by  the  more  exciting  party 
topic  of  slavery,  but  it  has  never  been  absent  from  the  Southern 
mind.*  To  estimate  its  real  weight,  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
that  it  was  no  question  of  wise  or  unwise  legislation — no  mere 
matteV  of  opinion.  The  Southern  states  entered  into  the  Union 
as  sovereign,  independent  powers,  under  a  compact  the  clear 
spirit  of  which  is,  as  we  have  seen,  to  forbid  preference  in  fiscal 
regulations  to  any  one  over  the  rest.  That  compact  expressly 
declares  it  to  be  one  of  its  objects  to. insure  justice.  In  the  face 
of  this  they  find  themselves  enthralled  in  industrial  subjection  to 
others  of  the  original  parties  to  the  compact. 

It  is  true  it  has  always  been  attempted  to  disguise  the  real 
fact  under  the  allegation  that  the  duties  were  imposed  for  pur- 
poses of  revenue.  This  could  deceive  no  one.  A  revenue  tariff 
will  place  duties  on  tea,  coffee,  and  other  articles,  not  absolutely 
necessaries  of  life,  but  of  large  consumption — such  as  will  yield 
an  important  sum  at  a  rate  hardly  perceptible  to  the  consumer. 
A  protective  tariff  will  select  for  the  imposition  of  duties  those 
articles  it  may  be  desirc^d  to  foster  at  home.  The  true  object 
of  all  the  American  tariffs,  since  1816,  is  so  apparent  to  any 
observer,  ever  so  moderately  conversant  witfi  these  subjects,  that 
it  excites  surprise  that  the  attempt  should  ever  have  been  made 
to  dispute  it. 

*  It  lias  been  argued  that  the  Southerners  cannot  have  entertained  any  strong 
feeling  on  this  subject,  inasmuch  as  they  held  the  reins  of  government  during  the 
greater  portion  of  the  time  throughout  which  these  tariffs  have  existed,  and 
might  have  used  their  power  to  rescind  them.  This  is  a  plausible  argument  but 
one  that  no  one  ccnild  use  who  is  acquainted  with  the  inner  working  of  American 
politics.  The  political  power  of  the  South  depended,  as  we  have  seen,  on  its  alli- 
ance with  a  party  in  the  North.  This  alliance  powerful  for  political  or  party 
objects,  became  a  mere  rojie  of  sand  when  personal  intei'ests  were  affected.  The 
Northern  Democrat  was  always  ready  to  contend  against  the' Whig,  but  never 
against  his  own  pocket.  Hence  the  Southern  ranks,  very  imposing  on  political 
questions,  became  a  scene  of  mutiny  and  desertion  the  moment  economical  ques- 
tions arose.  No  clearer  proof  of  this  cduld  be  desired  than  exists  in  the  fact  that 
these  tariffs  woi-e  passed  against  the  strenuous  resistance  of  the  South.  If  they 
had  not  power  to  prevent  their  being  enacted,  whence  could  they  obtain  the  power 
to  annul  them  i 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION — TARIFFS.  121 

It  must  be  observed  that  the  advantages  of  protection  are  not 
altogether  confined  to  Northern  interests.  The  duty  on  sugar 
has  been  maintained  at  a  point  higher,  undoubtedly,  than  would 
have  been  fixed  but  for  the  interests  of  Louisiana  in  that  article. 
The  truth  is,  as  Benton  clearly  shows,  that  it  being  inij)ossible 
to  overthrow  the  system,  an>'  interest  in  the  South  that  could  be 
benefited  by  it  naturally  came  under  its  wing.  This  fact  has  no 
effect  upon  the  argument.  That  certain  districts  of  the  South 
have  been  willing  to  profit  by  it  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  to 
the  great  majority  of  the  Southern  people — including  the  entire 
cotton  trade — it  has  been  wholly  injurious;  nor  can  it  be  doubt- 
ed that  the  Southern  interests  which  are  benefited  would  have 
yielded  at  once  to  the  views  of  the  great  majority  had  it  been 
possible  to  terminate  a  system  so  prejudicial  to  the  South  as  a 
whole. 

This  system  of  protecting  Northern  manufactures  has  an  inju- 
rious influence  bej'ond  the  effect  immediately  apparent.  It  is 
doubly  injurious  to  the  Southern  states,  in  raising  what  they 
have  to  buy,  and  lowering  Avhat  they  have  to  sell.  Tliey  are  tiie 
exporters  of  the  Union,  and  require  that  other  countries  shall 
take  their  productions.  But  other  countries  will  have  difficulty 
in  taking  them,  unless  permitted  to  pay  for  them  in  the  commod- 
ities which  are  their  only  means  of  payment.  They  are  willing 
to  receive  cotton,  and  to  pay  for  it  in  iron,  earthen-ware,  wool- 
lens. But  if  by  extravagant  duties  these  are  proliibitcd  from 
entering  the  Union,  or  greatly  restricted,  the  effect  must  needs 
be  to  restrict  the  power  to  buy  the  products  of  the  South.  Our 
imports  of  Southern  productions  have  nearly  reached  thirty 
millions  sterling  a  year.  Suppose  the  North  to  succeed  in  the 
object  of  its  desire,  and  to  exclude  our  manufactures  altogether, 
with  what  are  we  to  pay?  It  is  plainly  impossible  for  any  coun- 
try to  export  largely  unless  it  be  willing  also  to  import  largely. 
Should  the  Union  be  restored  and  its  commerce  be  conducted 
under  the  present  tariff,  the  balance  of  trade  against  us  must 
become  so  great  as  either  to  derange  our  monetary  system,  or 
compel  us  to  restrict  our  purchases  from  those  who  practically 
exclude  other  payment  than  gold.  With  the  rate  of  exchange 
constantly  depressed,  the  South  would  receive  an  actual  money 
11 


122  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

payment  much  below  the  current  value  of  its  products.  We 
should  be  driven  to  other  markets  for  our  cotton,  and  thus  the 
exclusion  of  our  manufactures  by  the  North  would  result  in  a 
compulsory  exclusion,  on  our  part,  of  the  products  of  the  South. 

This  is  a,  consideration  of  no  importance  to  the  Northern  man- 
ufacturer, whose  only  thought  is  the  immediate  profit  he  may 
obtain  by  shutting  out  competition.  It  may  be,  however,  of 
very  extreme  importance  to  others — to  those  who  have  products 
they  are  anxious  to  sell  to  us,  who  are  desirous  to  receive  in 
payment  the  very  goods  we  wish  to  dispose  of,  but  are  debarred 
from  selling.  Is  there  not  something  of  the  nature  of  commer- 
cial slavery  in  the  fetters  of  a  system  such  as  this  ?  If  we  con- 
sider the  terms  of  the  compact,  and  the  gigantic  magnitude  of  the 
Southern  trade,  it  becomes  amazing  that  even  the  attempt 
should  be  made  to  deal  with  it  in  such  a  manner. 

As  the  Morrill  tariff  illustrates  in  a  striking  manner  many  of 
the  views  expressed,  and  has  hardly  been  analyzed  as  its  merits 
deserve,  it  may  be  well  to  look  a  little  closely  into  this  latest 
specimen  of  American  legislation.  The  effect  of  doing  so  will 
be  astonishment  that  such  a  law  could  be  passed  at  the  present 
day.  The  outrageous  amount  of  duties  imposed  on  articles  of 
prime  importance,  at  a  time,  too,  when  other  civilized  countries 
are  reducing  duties  and  removing  impediments  to  trade,  will  not 
excite  more  surprise  than  the  blunders,  the  petty  favoritism,  the 
absence  of  all  rule  or  system,  the  want  of  all  legislative  capacity 
which  it  displays.  It  would  be  difficult  to  contrive  more  ingen- 
ious machinery  for  dispensing  injustice,  restricting  commerce, 
perplexing  merchants,  creating  disputes,  inviting  chicanery,  or 
driving  officers  of  the  customs  to  despair. 

A  specific  duty  has  the  advantage  of  being  definite,  simple, 
and  free  from  risk  of  fraud ;  but  as  prices  fluctuate,  it  may  be- 
come much  more  light  or  onerous  in  relation  to  the  cost  of  the 
article  than  it  was  designed  to  be.  An  ad  valorem  duty  escapes 
this  evil,  but  is  without  those  advantages.  To  attach  to  one 
article  two  duties,  one  on  the  specific  and  the  other  on  the  ad 
valorem  principle,  is  a  contrivance  by  which  to  obtain  the  evils 
of  both,  with  the  advantages  of  neither.  It  is  incredible  that 
any  one  reflecting  upon  the  subject  could  fail  to  see  the  impolicy 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION — TARIFFS.  123 

of  imposing  the  two  on  the  same  artiele ;  j'et  the  Morrill  tarifF 
does  this,  not  in  a  few  instances,  but  generally  throughout  the 
range  of  manufactured  goods. 

A  piece  of  printed  cotton  is  charged  with  duty  after  this  man- 
ner:  First,  it  is  necessary  to  count  the  numbei*  of  threads  in  a 
square  inch  ;  if  140,  the  duty  may  be  two  cents  per  yard  ;  if  141, 
half  as  much  more  will  have  to  be  paid.  The  hundred  and  for- 
tieth part  of  an  inch  seems  rather  thin  ground  on  which  to 
increase  a  duty  fifty  per  cent.  Secondly,  the  weight  must  be 
taken;  for  if  over  five  ounces  to  the  square  yard,  the  rate  of 
dlity  will  be  doubled.  Thirdly,  it  must  be  discovered  whether 
it  has  been  bleached;  if  so,  that  will  require  an  extra  duty. 
Fourthly,  if  printed,  i)ainted,  colored,  or  stained,  there  will  be 
another  additional  duty.  Fifthly,  it  must  be  valued ;  for  if 
worth  16  cents  per  yard,  the  duty  must  be  paid  on  a  principle 
different  altogether.  Now,  as  it  is  requisite  to  count  the  threads, 
weigh  the  substance,  measure  the  length,  ascertain  the  value, 
investigate  the  manufacture,  and  contenqilate  the  appearance  of 
this  article  of  commerce,  it  seems  rather  difficult  to  imagine  how 
the  skein  of  confusion,  not  to  say  of  absurdity,  could  be  further 
entangled  by  mortal  men. 

This  strange  system  is  by  no  means  confined  to  cotton  goods ; 
it  runs  throughout  woollen  manufactures,  carpets,  glass-ware, 
and  other  interests  of  the  largest  importance ;  as  if,  indeed,  first 
to  deal  a  stunning  blow  by  the  excessive  rates  of  the  duties,  and 
then  to  strangle  with  their  complexities.  And  there  is  no  rule 
laid  down  that  is  not  violated  at  once ;  for  instance,  it  is  a  rule 
to  admit  raw  materials  duty  free,  but  hemp,  jute,  and  other  arti- 
cles of  that  class  —  pure  raw  materials  —  are  heavily  charged 
with  duty,  in  order  to  please  a  powerful  state  that  grows  hemp. 
It  is  the  rule  to  charge  heavily  all  manufactured  goods ;  and  so 
rigid  is  this,  that  while  buhr-stones  are  free,  they  are  subject  to 
twenty  per  cent,  if  bound  together.  Here  is  a  clear,  intelligible 
rule;  but  no  sooner  is  it  fixed  in  the  mind  than  we  find  it  de- 
viated from.  Paper  is  under  a  prohibitory  duty  of  thirty  per 
cent.,  but  sheathing  paper  pays  only  ten  per  cent.,  for  the  special 
advantage  of  the  ship-owner.  Machinery  is  very  heavily  taxed  ; 
but  if  it  be  for  the  manufacture  of  linens,  it  is  duty  free  —  to 


124  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

favor,  as  before,  the  hemp  interest.  Soda  and  its  salts  pay 
twenty  per  cent. ;  but  soda  ash,  a  very  important  article,  is 
admitted  without  duty,  no  doubt  for  the  convenience  of  the 
glass-makers.  Clocks  and  timepieces  pay  thirty  per  cent,  to 
please  the  Connecticut  clock-makers ;  but  a  chronometer,  the 
highest  description  of  a  clock,  pays  only  ten  per  cent.,  for  the 
ship-owner  is  again  to  be  remembered.  Bituminous  coal  pays 
twice  the  duty  imposed  on  other  coal.  It  is  difficult  to  discover 
why  this  should  be  so,  unless  for  the  same  reason  which  has  or- 
dained that  prunes  pay  twice  as  much  as  plums.  There  is  a 
well  known  class  of  coal  in  this  country,  "  free-burning,"  or 
semi-bituminous — what  rate  of  duty  will  this  pay  ?  It  appears, 
also,  that  duties  on  coal  are  to  be  paid  by  the  "  ton  of  twenty- 
eight  bushels  of  eighty  pounds  each,"  which  seems  an  unhappy 
conflict  of  the  principles  of  number,  weight,  arid  measure. 
Lastly,  if  the  coals  be  very  small,  they  will  be  charged  with 
duty  upon  a  principle  different  altogether. 

As,  however,  it  is  well  known  that  this  tariff  was  an  election- 
eering bribe  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  its  real  nature  will 
most  clearly  be  seen  by  taking  iron,  the  article  which  is  the 
special  interest  of  that  state.  The  duty  imposed  on  pig  iron  is 
six  dollars,  or  twenty-five  shillings  per  ton.  The  value  of  Scotch 
pig  iron,  the  description  chiefly  imported,  was,  at  the  date  of 
passing  the  act,  fifty  shillings  per  ton  in  the  Clyde.  Hence  the 
duty  imposed  is  at  the  modest  rate  of  fifty  per  cent.  But  this 
is  not  all  the  protection  obtained.  The  ordinary  freight  from 
Glasgow  to  New  York  is  twenty-five  shillings  per  ton ;  so  that 
the  actual  protection  thus  enforced  on  pig  iron  is  a  hundred  per 
cent.  Bar  iron  has  to  sustain  a  duty  of  fifteen  to  twenty  dol- 
lars, the  lowest  rate  being  three  pounds  two  shillings  sixpence 
per  ton.  Its  value  at  the  time  was  five  pounds  per  ton  at  Cardiff, 
thus  bringing  the  duty  to  sixty-two  and  a  half  per  cent.  When 
to  this  we  add  the  ordinary  cost  of  transport,  the  protection 
enforced  against  this  great  staple  of  our  exports  will  amount  to 
eighty-five  to  ninety  per  cent. 

Iron  has  been  largely  exported  to  the  United  States  in  the 
form  of  sheets.  The  lowest  rate  of  duty  now  imposed  on  sheet 
iron  will  amount  to  fifty  per  cent,  on  its  value.     In  the  adjust- 


CAUSES    OF    niSRlTPTTON — TARIFFS.  12'^ 

ment  of  the  duties  on  tins  article  there  are  some  very  remark- 
able contrivaneos.  "  Smooth  or  polished "  sheet  iron  is  to  be 
charged  twice  the  duty  levied  on  "  common  or  black."  Now, 
most  of  that  which  is  exported  to  America  is  not  rolled  in  single 
sheets,  but  two  or  more  together.  These,  when  rolled,  are 
separated  or  dragged  from  their  adherence  to  each  other.  The 
outer  surface,  which  has  been  in  contact  with  the  rolls,  is 
"smooth  or  polished,"  but  the  other  side,  forcibly  detached  from 
its  fellow,  is  rough  and  discolored  with  black  streaks.  Hence, 
when  the  rough  side  of  the  sheet  happens  to  come  uppermost,  it 
will  pass  the  custom-house  at  the  low  duty  ;  Imt  if  by  chance 
the  smooth  side  should  unfortunately  present  itself,  then  the 
rate  will  be  doubled. 

Again,  the  duty  advances  as  the  sheets  are  thinner  ;  a  thick- 
ness of  twenty-six  gauge  is  to  pay  twenty  shillings  per  ton  more 
duty  than  one  of  twenty-five.  The  difference  between  these 
dimensions  is  too  minute  to  be  appreciable  by  the  eye,  and  is 
ascertained  by  applying  an  instrument.  But  sheet  iron  cannot 
be  manufactured  in  rolls  that  are  parallel  planes ;  in  practice, 
their  surfaces  must  be  slightly  concave.  This  of  necessity  will 
produce  a  slight  difference  of  thickness  in  different  parts  of  the 
sheet.  And  thus  upon  the  chance  of  the  part  of  the  edge  to 
which  the  gauge  may  be  applied  it  will  depend  whether  the 
importer  have  to  pay  an  additional  duty,  much  exceeding  in 
amount  the  whole  of  his  usual  profit.  We  have  observed  that 
the  duty  advances  as  the  sheet  becomes  thinner ;  but,  strange  to 
say,  the  thinnest  of  all,  produced  occasionally  as  thin  as  the 
two-hundredth  part  of  an  inch,  these  escape  altogether  from  the 
list  —  to  appear  in  another  schedule,  under  the  trivial  duty  of 
ten  per  cent.  It  happens  that  these  are  not  produced  in  Amer- 
ica; and  although  the  highest  form  of  manufacture,  the  iron- 
master there,  who  frames  tlie  law,  is  quite  indifferent  wherever 
there  be  no  competition  with  his  own  trade. 

Ts  it  on  such  principles  as  these  that  laws  are  to  be  framed 
for  the  commercial  rule  of  a  great  empire  ?  Is  it  seemly  that 
the  intelligence  of  the  age,  enlightened  by  ample  ex|)erience 
should  be  thus  affronted,  by  committing  the  duties  of  the  states- 
man  into  the  hands  of  self-interest,  and  sacrificing  the  welfare 


126  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

of  a  great  community,  and  that  of  other  countries,  to  the  caprice 
of  party,  the  incompetence  of  novices,  or  the  selfishness  of  any 
clique,  powerful  enough  to  be  worth  bribing,  by  submission  to  a 
measure  such  as  this  ? 

For  the  spirit  of  this  tariff  it  is  not  difficult  to  account ;  but  it 
seems  necessary  to  inquire  what  will  explain  the  blunders  with 
which  it  is  replete,  and  the  absence  of  all  judgment  or  ordinary 
intelligence  in  framing  a  law  so  important  and  critical.  It  will 
not  be  necessary  to  go  far,  to  see  why  this  should  be  so.  In  this 
country  legislation  on  important  subjects  is  preceded  by  diligent 
inquiries  of  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  who 
patiently  take  down  evidence  and  collect  facts.  In  other  words, 
legislation  is  based  upon  knowledge.  In  France,  when  the  late 
treaty  was  under  consideration,  all  present  at  the  meetings  of 
the  "  Conseil  Superieur "  were  impressed  with  the  admirable 
care  taken  to  bring  together  the  knowledge  of  those  versed  in 
each  subject ;  to  accumulate  the  materials  that  might  afterward 
be  weighed,  and  balanced,  in  order  to  the  formation  of  sound 
judgment.  Let  us  contrast  with  either  of  these  the  mode  of 
passing  a  bill  of  this  difficult  and  important  nature  in  the 
United  States. 

The  title  of  the  Morrill  tariff  commences,  "  An  act  to  provide 
for  the  payment  of  outstanding  treasury  notes,  to  authorize  a 
loan,"  etc.,  etc.  How  come  matters,  so  entirely  distinct,  to  be 
mixed  with  the  details  of  a  tariff  of  necessity  complex  enough 
when  alone  ?  Because  the  bill  is  a  specimen  of  that  original 
species  of  A.merican  legislation  known  as  "  log-rolling."  The 
meaning  of  the  phrase  is  this—"  You  help  to  roll  my  log,  and 
I  '11  help  to  roll  yours."  When  two  logs  are  put  into  one  bill, 
there  are,  at  once,  two  classes  interested  in  its  success.  Each 
may,  and  frequently  does  exceedingly  dislike  his  friend's  log ; 
but  this  is  a  tame  feeling,  as  compared  with  interest  in  his  own. 
The  one  is  a  question  of  his  own  private  advantage,  while  the 
other  concerns  nothing  beyond  the  mere  public.  There  is, 
however,  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  contrivance,  if  too  much 
time  be  afforded.  Some  one  who  is  not  of  the  compact  may  be 
officious  enough  to  separate  the  logs  ;  or  their  united  strength 
may  be  doubtful  against  a  strong  opposition,  if  there  be  time  for 


CAUSES    OF    DTsaUPTION — TARIFFS.  127 

thorough  investigation.  It  follows  that  a  "  log-rolling  "  bill  has 
many  more  chances  of  getting  through  by  "rushing"  it.  This 
means  to  keep  it  back  till  the  last  few  days  of  the  session,  and 
then,  amid  a  crowd  of  other  measures,  by  dint  of  vehemence, 
under  cover  of  confusion,  and  with  the  powerful  aid  of  the 
"  lobby,"  to  rush  it  through.  This  bill  was  rushe<l.  Its  fate  was 
very  doubtful ;  there  was  a  very  strong  opposition.  But  there 
was  the  other  log  in  it.  If  rejected,  it  was  now  too  late  to  bring 
in  a  fresh  measure,  to  provide  for  the  treasury  notes,  and  the 
loan,  and  thus  many  were  driven  to  support  it,  in  or.ler  to  avert 
the  injury  of  stopping  tiie  wheels  of  government.  Under  such 
a  system,  any  consultation  with  practical  or  commercial  men, 
any  thoughtful  consideration  of  the  vast  interests  affected — 
these  were  entirely  out  of  place.  None  were  more  amazed,  or 
so  thoroughly  dismayed  at  the  passing  of  the  act  as  the  mer- 
chants of  New  York ;  none  were  more  incredulous  than  the 
Americans  residing  in  London  and  Liverpool,  most  of  whom 
scouted  the  idea  of  such  a  measure  being  inflicted  on  the  com- 
munity. Is  it  wonderful  that  the  people  of  the  South  should 
object  to  be  governed  after  this  manner  ? 

This  tariff,  indeed,  has  not  been  defended  in  this  country — 
that  could  hardly  be  attempted ;  it  has  been  excused,  on  the  plea 
that  it  could  only  be  regarded  as  an  a-t  of  eccentric  fatuity,  and 
that  it  would  be  rectified  immediately  upon  Congress  assembling 
again.  Congress  has  assembled,  and  has  added  to  the  measure, 
but  in  the  opposite  direction — by  rendering  it  more  restrictive 
and  protective  than  before.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  most 
modern  specimen  of  American  legislation,  and  a  complete  illus- 
tration of  some  of  the  results  of  their  institutions.  What  con- 
viction forces  itself  upon  the  mind  ?  We  are  considering  what 
tlie  Union  really  is — its  intrinsic,  not  its  reputed  value.  These 
are  some  of  its  fruits.  Strong  evidence  it  is  to  what  extent 
eighty  years  of  its  working  have  debilitated  legislative  talent. 
What  a  declension  is  here  from  the  capacity  and  from  the  justice 
of  Wasliington's  age  !  It  is  plainly  apparent  that  the  institu- 
tions of  the  Union  have  either  extinguished  political  ability  and 
judgment,  or  banished  them  from  the  government,  delivering 
up  the  destinies  of  a  magnificent  empire  into  the  hands  of  those 


128  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

whose  inexperience,  incapacity,  and  self-seeking  are  displayed 
in  legislation  such  as  this. 

An  American  writer,  in  extenuation  of  the  Northern  party's 
conduct,  has  offered  another  excuse.  Admitting,  as  he  does? 
that  the  affair  was  a  bribe,  given  to  induce  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania to  change  sides,  he  excuses  it  on  the  ground  that  New 
England  and  New  York  when  they  agreed  to  give  the  bribe 
did  not  expect  they  would  have  to  make  the  payment.  They 
had  not  calculated  on  the  Southern  members  being  absent,  and 
that  the  measure  would  thus  be  allowed  to  pass.  It  was  in- 
tended, therefore,  both  to  bribe  the  state  and  cajole  it — to 
obtain  the  benefit  and  escape  the  payment.  We  cannot  see  that 
this  improves  the  affair.  The  state  sold  herself  and  changed 
sides,  and  had  a  fair  right  to  her  price.  When  a  bargain  is 
based  upon  injustice  to  others  it  does  not  seem  to  mend  it  that 
the  parties  to  it  should  hope  to  delude  each  other.  When 
making  this  arrangement,  we  are  not  told  how  much  thought 
was  bestowed  upon  the  interests  of  the  South  —  the  intended 
victims  —  or  whether  much  was  given  to  hundreds  of  manu- 
facturers in  this  country  whose  accustomed  industry  was  to  be 
paralyzed. 

There  are  those  who  have  argued  that  admitting  all.  the 
follies  of  the  measure,  it  could  not  have  caused  or  influenced 
secession,  inasmuch  as  the  niovement  of  the  cotton  states  had 
already  occurred.  But  the  border  states  were  wavering  in  inde- 
cision at  the  moment  selected  for  this  measure  —  selected  by 
those  who  ought  to  have  been  well  aware  of  the  protests  of  the 
South,  of  the  pretext  for  their  own  revolution,  and  of  the  nulli- 
fication within  their  own  remembrance.  The  cotton  states  had 
indeed  seceded  previously;  but  why?  Because,  as  we  have 
seen,  political  power  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  North, 
and  they  anticipated  from  the  change  an  utter  disregard  of 
their  interests,  and  a  course  of  policy  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution  and  to  their  rights  under  it.  Was  it  possible  to 
offer  to  the  world  more  prompt  or  convincing  proof  than  this 
tariff  affords  that  their  apprehensions  were  well  founded? 

The  leading  supporters  of  the  Union  bring  forward  another 
argument.     They  say,  granted  all  this,  still  the  tariff  question 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION — TARIFFS.  129 

was  no  sufficient  ground  for  breaking  up  the  Union.  No  one 
appears  to  have  made  the  assertion  thus  disputed.  Revolutions 
are  never  the  result  of  mercantile  calculations  alone.  Material 
interests  may  be  sacrificed  for  very  long  periods  without  provok- 
ing them,  but  all  that  time  the  electric  fluid  will  have  been  accu- 
mulating, though  it  seems  to  be  generated  at  the  instant  of 
discharge.  This  is  but  one  of  the  alleged  grievances  of  the 
South,  and  of  all  the  least  exciting,  for  questions  of  political 
economy  address  themselves  to  the  reason  —  those  which  arouse 
the  passions  make  revolutions. 

Yet,  though  perhaps  the  least  active  agent  in  causing  the 
disruption,  it  seems — taking  it  alone — quite  as  suflicient  as  that 
which  produced  the  revolt  of  the  colonies  from  this  country. 
Here  is  a  course  of  preferential  and  unjust  taxation  persevered 
in,  and  that  on  a  great  scale,  for  thirty  years,  against  reiterated 
protests.  On  that  occasion  there  was  a  duty  of  threepence  per 
pound  on  tea — trivial  in  amount — and  imposed  for  the  profit  of 
no  special  class,  but  for  the  general  good.  Nor  was  it  imposed 
for  remote  objects,  but  to  defray  in  part  the  expenses  of  a  war 
entirely  American,  which  had  resulted  to  the  benefit  of  the 
colonies  in  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  left  over  a  debt  not 
justly  chargeable  to  the  British  tax-payer  alone.  When  that 
trifling  duty  is  contrasted  with  the  history  we  have  narrated  of 
the  tariff  question,  it  would  seem  as  if,  in  this  subject  alone,  the 
South  had  graver  justification  than  that  which  is  held  to  have 
warranted  the  first  Revolution. 

To  this  it  will  be  replied  that  the  duty  on  tea — in  itself  a 
small  matter — embodied  a  great  principle  —  "  Taxation  without 
representation."  In  passing  the  Morrill  tariff  there  was  taxation 
in  the  absence  of  representation.  But  passing  that  point,  and 
fully  admitting  the  principle  announced,  we  think  another  may 
be  found  as  great — the  principle  of  justice.  Taxation  Avithout 
representation  was  held  to  violate  the  British  Constitution, 
although  great  cities  in  England  were  so  taxed.  Is  it  not  a  vio- 
lation of  the  American  Constitution  so  to  impose  taxation  that  it 
shall  benefit  one  portion  of  the  Union  at  the  expense  of  the 
other  ?  The  people  of  the  South  appear  to  have  the  same 
cause  as  regards  the  fact,  in  an  infinitely  greater  degree  ;  and  as 


130  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

regards  the  principle,  they  have  one  above  any  theoretical  de- 
ductions— a  principle  embodied  in  a  compact  legible  by  all,  and 
one  acknowledged  also  by  men  where  no  constitutions  exist — 
the  principle  of  justice. 

A  tariff  question  may  appear  to  be  one  unlikely  to  be  mingled 
with  any  kind  of  sentiment.  Between  two  sections  of  a  com- 
munity, equally  prosperous,  this  would  be  the  case.  But  circum- 
'stances  may  exist  that  will  render  it  a  source  of  strong  feeling 
also.  Senator  Benton  remarks  on  the  tariff  of  1828:  "The 
South  believed  itself  impoverished  to  enrich  the  North  by  this 
system;  and  certainly  an  unexpected  result  had  been  seen  in 
these  two  sections.  In  the  colonial  state  the  Southern  were  the 
richer  part  of  the  colonies,  and  they  expected  to  do  well  in  a 
state  of  independence.  But  in  the  first  half  century  after  inde- 
pendence this  expectation  was  revei'sed.  The  wealth  of  the 
North  was  enormously  aggrandized;  tliat  of  the  South  had 
declined.  Northern  towns  had  become  great  cities.  Southern 
cities  had  decayed  or  become  stationary;  and  Charleston,  the 
principal  port  of  the  South,  was  less  considerable  than  before 
the  Revolution.  The  North  became  a  money-lender  to  the 
South,  and  Southern  citizens  made  pilgrimages  to  Northern 
cities  to  raise  money  upon  their  patrimonial  estates.  The 
Southern  states  attributed  this  result  to  the  action  of  the  Fed- 
eral government — its  double  action  of  levying  revenue  upon  the 
industry  of  one  section  of  the  Union  and  expending  it  in 
another — and  especially  to  its  protective  tariffs."  In  truth,  the 
view  common  in  the  Southern  states  is  that  the  South  has  been 
used  as  a  tributary,  drained  for  the  benefit  of  the  North.  To 
some  extent,  though  by  no  means  to  the  extent  they  imagine, 
this  has  really  been  the  case.  The  same  belief  exists  quietly, 
too,  in  the  North,  and  possibly  may  be  one  element  in  the  in- 
tense desire  of  New  York  to  retain  the  connection.  In  a  com- 
munity entirely  mercantile  it  is  probable  that  at  the  root  of  such 
a  sentiment  there  will  be  found  some  conception  of  profit. 

Now  it  cannot  be  without  some  sensibility  that  the  South- 
erner of  the  older  states  will  look  upon  the  seats  of  its  former 
gentry  now  mouldering  in  decay,  and  overgrown  with  weeds. 
And  when  laws  ai-e  imposed  upon  him,  manifestly  unjust,  which 


CAUSES    OF    DISRUPTION — TARIFFS.  J81 

in  his  judgment  are  calculated  to  bring  about  the  results  he  be- 
holds, a  sense  of  wrong  will  be  embittered  by  feelings  of  humili- 
ated pride,  and  of  regret  for  the  fallen  importance  of  his  state. 
This  feeling  of  attachment  to  his  own  state  is  peculiarly  strong 
in  the  older  portions  of  the  South.  Tlie  Union  is  an  epithet,  an 
abstraction ;  the  state  is  a  reality  before  him.  He  drew  his 
breath  upon  its  soil,  he  has  played  upon  its  shores,  he  has  ram- 
bled in  its  woods,  he  has  bathed  in  its  streams,  the  outline  of  its 
mountains  is  familiar  to  his  mind  as  the  features  of  some  face 
engraven  in  the  memories  of  youth.  The  Union  may  be  a 
theme  for  imagination — one  part  of  it  only  can  stir  his  heart. 
The  Scotchman  feds  pride  in  the  greatness  of  the  British  em- 
pire, but  this  is  a  poor  and  feeble  emotion  to  that  with  which  he 
turns  to  Scotland.  All  this  may  be  called  local  attachment,  it 
may  be  unconstitutional,  it  may  be  unwise,  but,  after  all,  it  is 
human  nature.  And  those  who  pretend  to  govern  great  domin- 
ions have  not  to  legislate  for  men  as  thtfy  would  have  them  to 
be,  but  as  they  are.  It  is  far  statesmen  to  take  strong  feelings 
into  account,  when  they  know  them  to  exist;  and  when  those 
feelings  are  embittered  by  surrounding  circumstances,  and  are 
morbid,  or  excited,  be  it  ever  so  erroneously,  on  some  special 
topic,  it  would  at  any  rate  have  been  well,  when  face  to  face 
with  the  gaunt  spirit  of  revolution,  to  have  left  that  subject 
alone. 

*  *  V  *  *  * 

We  have  now  examined  the  three  principal  grievances  ad- 
vanced by  the  South.  They  hold  that,  under  a  Constitution 
which  prescribes  perfect  equality,  and  forbids  "preference," 
they  ought  not  to  be  compelled  to  pay  enormous  duties  on  all 
they  require  for  their  industry  from  al)road,  while  all  that  is 
required  for  its  industry  by  the  North  is  obtained  by  it  free  of 
duty.  They  have  protested  against  this  for  thirty  years  in  vain. 
They  now  see  that,  under  the  irresistible  growth  of  population 
in  the  North,  political  power  has  passed  from  its  original  tenure, 
and  is  gone  without  hope  of  return.  They  feel  the  bitterness  of 
the  gnawing  agitation  long  carried  on  by  the  Abolitionists,  in 
plain  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.  They  ask  if  it 
be  expedient  to  remain  under  a  bond  which  it  no  longer  suits  the 


1 


132  THTC   AMERICAN    UNION. 

other  parties  to  fulfil.  It  Las  been  written — "The  letter  killeth, 
but  the  spirit  giveth  life  ;"  they  feel  that  this  spirit  which  giveth 
life  has  long  passed  away,  while  the  letter  remains,  to  kill  them. 
The  objects  of  the  Union,  expressed  in  the  preamble  to  the 
Constitution,  have  not  been  accomplished.  It  has  not  formed 
"  a  more  perfect  union  "  of  interests,  or  opinions,  or  affections. 
All  these  have  grown  more  and  more  discordant.  It  has  not 
maintained  justice  in  matters  of  commerce;  and  in  those  of  the 
law,  all  that  could  be  done  has  been  done  to  degrade  it. 
Whether  or  not  it  has  "  provided  for  the  general  welfare "  is 
essentially  a  matter  of  opinion.  In  the  opinion  of  the  people  of 
the  South,  it  has  been  made  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  the 
North,  at  their  expense.  * 

Looking  to  its  continuance,  thej'  see  themselves  consigned  to 
a  perpetual  minority,  in  hopeless  subserviency  to  a  people  whom 
they  neither  love  nor  respect — to  those  Avho  differ  in  habits,  in 
social  system,  in  interests,  in  tastes.  They  might  resign  them- 
selves to  be  incorporated,  to  melt  Into  one;  but  here  the  v?ist 
extent  of  the  country,  and  the  radical  differences  of  temperament 
and  polity  present  insuperable  obstacles.  Nature  has  forbidden 
the  union  which  politicians  have  ordained.  They  might  resolve 
to  lean  on  hope  in  the  future,  but  they  see  that  the  action  of 
time,  and  the  growth  of  numbers  have  aggravated  every  evil; 
and  they  foresee  that  the  operation  of  these  causes  in  the  future 
will  only  add  to  this  result.  They  might  accept  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  for  its  own  amendment.  But  what  amend- 
ment of  laws  can  cure  an  evil  really  geographical  V  No  code 
that  man  can  devise  will  assimilate  the  citizen  of  Louisiana,  or 
of  Georgia,  with  the  New  Englander.  This  is  an  evil  beyond 
the  powers  of  legislation  to  probe,  or  the  decisions  of  the  Su- 
preme court  to  remedy,  and  it  is  the  very  root  of  the  disease. 

To  the  Southerner,  the  Union  appears  an  artificial  arrange- 
ment, wise  at  the  time  of  its  formation — rendered  injurious  now 
by  the  progress  of  events.  All  the  separate  states  have  out- 
grown their  original  constitutions,  and  have  altered  them. 
What  has  happened  to  each,  individually,  has  happened  to  the 
whole,  collectively.  Is  it  true,  as  some  have  asserted,  that  there 
is  something  "sacred"  in  the  Union  that  forbids  the  approach 


CAUSES   OF    DISRUPTION TARIFFS.  133 

of  human  judgment  ?  We  liavo  seen,  by  ample  evidence, 
something  of  its  practical  working.  There  is,  indeed,  one  union 
that  is  sacred  among  men  —  that  of  marriage.  But  in  most  of 
the  states  this  bond  is  readily  discarded,  and  divorce  obtained, 
with  a  levity  surprising  to  Europeans.  And  when  the  most 
solemn  act  of  union  by  which  man  can  be  bound  is  trifled  with 
thus,  what  sanctity  can  there  be  that  forbids  the  divorce  of  a 
political  union,  were  there  even  no  other  ground  for  it  than 
incompatibility  of  temper  ? 

To  all  this  it  is  replied  that  the  people  of  the  South  entered 
irrevocably  into  the  Federal  compac^t,  and  must  remain  fast 
bound  by  it.  This  raises  the  question  whether  secession  can 
really  be  effected  without  violating  constitutional  principles. 
This  is  one  which  cannot  be  omitted  when  we  are  estimating  the 
value  of  the  Union.  If  this  rigiit  does  exist,  or  cannot  be  dis- 
proved, is  there  any  means  by  which  to  counterbalance  so  dan- 
gerous a  principle  should  the  Union  be  restored  ?  Let  us 
endeavor  to  discover  what  amount  of  truth  there  may  be  in  the 
assertion  that  secession  does  not  violate  the  Constitution. 


ChapterVI. 

IS  SECESSION  A  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT? 

It  is  the  mam  position  of  those  who  deny  the  claim  of  the 
Southern  states  to  form  a  government  of  their  own  that  they  are 
bound  fast  by  the  Constitution.  On  the  other  hand,  able  men 
assert  that  secession  is  no  violation  of  its  terms.*  An  inquiry 
into  the  subject  may  now  appear  late  in  the  day,  for  the  onward 
tide  of  events  has  swept  beyond  this  margin  of  debatable 
ground.  When  secession  or  revolution  has  ripened  into  civil 
war,  it  may  appear  of  little  value  to  seek  whether  there  were 
clauses  in  the  Federal  compact  that  should  have  prevented  this. 
But  there-  is  really  a  future  and  permanent  interest  in  the  ques- 
tion. A  strenuous  effort  is  now  in  progress  to  maintain  or 
restore  the  Union ;  and  Mr.  Seward,  the  prime  minister  of  the 
Northern  government,  asserts  that  after  rebellion  is  crushed,  it 
will  stand  forth  "  unchanged  and  unchangeable."  If  so,  the  ele- 
ments that  now  exist  will  continue  —  the  rights,  or  imagined 
rights,  that  have  proved  so  disastrous  in  their  consequences  at 
the  present  time.  If  secession  be  a  right  derivable  from  the 
Constitution  by  calm,  logical  reasoning,  it  will  so  remain ;  for  all 
know  that  a  right,  real  or  ideal,  has  a  peculiar  tenacity  of  life. 
Not  seldom  we  witness  men  who  pass  a  long  life  in  the  pursuit 
of  some  legal  right,  which,  when  delusive,  is  not  the  less  power- 
ful in  its  hold  upon  the  mind.     The  pertinacity  of  great  commu- 

*  The  reader  is  desired  to  observe  that  of  tlie  authorities  quoted  in  this  chapter 
only  those  given  on  pagea  135-6  are  quoted  as  agreeing  in  a  right  of  secession.  The 
majority  of  tlioso  that  follow  have  left  no  opinions  on  record  upon  this  point;  but 
some,  such  as  Daniel  Webster  and  Mr.  Seward,  could  not  be  more  hostile  to  our 
views.  Hence  they  must  be  regarded  as  extending  their  authority  only  to  the 
immediate  point  which  their  words  are  used  to  illustrate.  No  quotation  will  be 
found  from  Calhoun,  the  most  logical  of  American  writers  or  speakers,  because 
being  an  ardent  partisan  of  the  South,  we  preferred  to  quote  from  those  free  from 
strong  feeling  or  biased  in  the  opposite  direction. 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  135 

nities  is  not  likely  to  be  less  enduring.  Though  the  present 
assertion  of  the  doctrine  should  be  trampled  down,  nothing  will 
extinguish  the  belief,  if  founded  in  truth,  and  on  grounds  that 
continue  in  existeace.  There  appear  to  be  two  ways  in  which 
this  insidious  danger  may  be  obviated ;  but  before  considering 
them  we  must  endeavor  to  determine  whether  the  asserted  right 
is  a  truth  or  a  delusion. 

The  inquiry  is  one  of  some  difliculty,  for  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  ordains  the  most  complex  system  of  govern- 
ment ever  in  operation  on  a  large  scale.  But  an  obstacle,  really 
as  formidable,  exists  in  the  fact  that  the  mind  of  most  inquirers 
is  preoccupied  with  an  opinion.  They  sit  down  to  the  evidence 
having  first  arrived  at  a  verdict.  So.  far  as  general  observation 
extends,  we  behold  a  single  people,  under  a  single  government, 
one  in  all  their  relations  with  ourselves,  acting,  indeed,  with 
extreme  unanimity  on  all  questions  of  public  policy.  The  visitor 
to  the  Union  observes  no  evidence  of  separate  states  or  sover- 
eignties. He  passes  through  the  whole  country  without  seeing 
toll-gate  or  barrier.  He  traverses  a  vast  dominion  peopled  by 
men  of  remarkable  uniformity  in  language  and  appearance. 
Hence  arises  a  general  impression  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  arc  a  single  political  community. 

But  we  shall  at  once  perceive  that  this  outward  appearance 
may  be  somewhat  deceptive,  when  we  find  that  men  of  the  high- 
est ability,  free  from  any  imaginable  bias,  express  such  opinions 
as  De  Tocqucville,  who  observes:  "The  Union  was  formed  by 
the  voluntary  agreement  of  the  states;  and  in  uniting  together 
they  have  not  forfeited  their  nationality,  nor  have  they  been 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  one  and  the  same  people.  If  one  of 
the  states  chose  to  withdraw  from  the  compact  it  would  be  difK- 
cult  to  disprove  its  right  of  doing  so,  and  the  Federal  govern- 
ment would  have  no  means  of  maintaining  its  claims  directly, 
either  by  force  or  right."  An  American  authority,  a  Northerner, 
of  legal  eminence,  Wm.  Rawle,  in  his  work  on  the  Constitution 
observes:  "It  depends  on  the  state  itself  whether  it  will  continue 
a  member  of  the  Union.  To  deny  this  right  would  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  principle  on  which  all  our  political  systems  are 
founded,  which  is  that  the  people  have  in  all  cases  a  right  to 


136  THK    AxMERlCAN    UNION. 

determine  how  they  will  be  governed.  This  right  must  be  con- 
sidered an  ingredient  in  the  original  composition  of  the  general 
government  which  though  not  expressed  was  mutually  under- 
stood." To  these  French  and  American  authorities  we  add  that 
of  a  recent  English  writer  on  the  United  States,  Dr.  Mackay, 
who  observes;  "The  Federal  government  exists  on  sufferance 
only.  Any  state  may  at  any  time  constitutionally  withdraw 
from  the  Union  and  thus  virtually  dissolve  it.  It  was  not,  cer- 
tainly, created  with  the  idea  that  the  states,  or  several  of  them, 
would  desire  a  separation ;  but  whenever  they  choose  to  do  it, 
they  have  no  obstacle  in  the  Constitution."  Here  secession  is 
plainly  declared  a  constitutional  right,  and  this  not  by  excited 
Southerners,  but  by  impartial  men  of  different  countries ;  and 
we  are  forced  to  admit  that  the  question  must  be  capable  of 
being  viewed  in  this  light  by  sound  judging  men  when  we  find 
it  expressed  so  decidedly  by  such  authorities. 

Let  us  briefly  consider  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
Constitution  was'  framed.  The  Revolutionary  war  was  brought 
to  a  successful  termination  with  the  assistance  of  France  and 
Spain,  under  the  control  of  a  government  styled  the  Congress. 
This  was  a  central  body  appointed  by  the  states,  with  very  ineffi- 
cient powers,  in  which  legislative  and  executive  functions  were 
blended  to  the  detriment  of  both.  Although  the  early  patriotic 
enthusiasm  soon  passed  away,  still  so  long  as  the  war  continued 
the  pressure  of  a  common  danger  knit  the  states  together. 
When  peace  followed  the  necessity  for  exertion  no  longer  sup- 
plied a  stimulus ;  lassitude  and  indifference  crept  over  the  gov- 
ernment ;  the  bands  of  the  Union  gradually  loosened,  and  the 
fabric  fell  into  decay.  There  were  no  funds  to  liquidate  the 
war  debt  or  to  afford  a  provision  for  the  officers  reduced  to 
want ;  there  was  no  excitement  to  keep  up  the  attendance  in 
Congress ;  there  was  no  subject  on  which  the  states  felt  any 
strong  and  common  interest.  Conflicting  views  began  to  display 
themselves,  feelings  of  jealousy  crept  into  life,  and  it  grew  ap- 
parent to  thoughtful  and  patriotic  men  that  if  so  unsettled  a 
condition  of  affairs  should  long  continue,  the  sword  so  lately 
sheathed  would  be  drawn  again  for  the  still  more  melancholy 
purpose  of  fraternal  war.     It  was,  therefore,  resolved  that  a 


J 


IS    SECES5«10N    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RKIHT  ?  137 

Convention  should  be  called  to  amend  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion under  which  the  Union  existed. 

These  "  Articles  of  Confederation "  were  similar  as  a  frame- 
work of  government  to  the  Constitution  which  followed  and 
continues.  The  states,  retaining  each  of  them  its  own  govern- 
ment for  its  domestic  purposes,  deputed  to  a  central  body,  the 
Congress,  the  charge  of  all  those  matters  of  a  general  nature 
which  could  be  regulated  best  by  a  common  agent.  To  Con- 
gress was  accorded  the  power  of  declaring  war  and  making 
peace,  of  entering  into  treaties  and  alliances,  of  regulating  the 
coinage,  of  establishing  a  postage  system,  of  borrowing  mon^y, 
of  equipping  a  navy,  and  appointing  all  ofHcors  in  the  Federal 
service  ;  and  the  respective  states  were  ibrbidden  to  undertake 
any  of  these  acts.  Congress  had  also  to  execute  the  functions 
of.  a  court  of  final  appeal  in  all  disputes  between  the  states. 
It  appointed  a  permanent  committee  imder  a  president  of  its 
own  selection,  and  througli  this  committee  perforniMl  the  e.vecu- 
tive  duties  of  government. 

These  Articles  are  entitled  "  perpetual,"  and  it  is  enacted  in 
Article  13,  "  And  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual."  The  general 
government  was  also  supreme  in  its  own  department ;  for  Arti- 
cle 13  enacts:  "  Every  state  shall  abide  by  the  determinations 
of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions 
which  by  this  Confederation  are  submitted  to  them."  Tliis  was 
clearly  a  provision  necessary  to  avert  confusion,  and  yet,  not- 
withstanding its  terms,  we  find  it  expressly  declared  in  Article  2: 
"  Each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence." 

The  Convention  called  for  the  purpose  of  amending  these 
Articles,  which  met  at  Philadelphia  on  the  14th  May,  1787,  was 
attended  by  twelve  of  the  thirteen  states,  one  of  them,  Rhode 
Island,  declining  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings.  It  was  pre- 
sided over  by  Washington,  and  Franklin  gave  to  it  the  venerable 
sanction  of  his  presence.  It  contained  the  most  emiment  men 
of  the  country,  and  few  political  assemblies  have  ever  comprised 
within  numbers  so  limited  an  ecpial  amount  of  talent.  Dele- 
gates were  appointed  to  it  by  each  state  without  restriction  as 
to  number,  but  each  delegation  gave  but  one  vote.  Debating 
the  subject  as  between  themselves,  the  decision  of  its  members 
12 


138  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

finally  appeared  as  the  vote  of  their  state.  The  Convention  sat 
with  closed  doors ;  the  members  were  forbidden  to  take  extracts 
from  the  journals,  and  were  enjoined  to  absolute  secrecy. 

The  debates  were  long  and  arduous,  for  the  difficulties  of  the 
subject  were  all  but  insuperable.  Each  state  was  a  sovereign 
power,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  its  commissioners  to  consult  its  spe- 
cial interests  before  any  other  consideration.  And  the  elements 
of  conflict  were  numerous,  for  there  were  small  states  confronting 
the  larger — maritime  interests  competing  with  agricultural-^ 
states  exclusively  Atlantic  against  those  having  Western  terri- 
tory— slave  states  and  those  expecting  soon  to  be  free ;  and  on 
the  leading  questions  these  various  interests  contended  each  for 
itself,  with  a  tenacity  proportionate  to  the  critical  nature  of  the 
decisions  to  be  formed.  On  more  than  one  occasion  the  Con- 
vention was  on  the  point  of  breaking  up  in  despair.  Eventually, 
step  by  step  the  various  clauses  were  arranged  by  a  series  of 
compromises,  which  have  remained  the  incongruities  and  bane 
of  the  Constitution. 

The  decisions  of  the  Convention  were  not  to  be  final  or 
binding  upon  any  state  until  ratified  by  its  own  people.  It  was 
anticipated  there  would  be  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  these 
ratifications,  and  provision  was  made  that  the  new  Constitution 
should  come  into  force,  limited  in  operation  to  themselves,  when- 
ever nine  of  the  thirteen  states  should  have  ratified  it.  The 
people  of  each  state  elected  a  convention,  to  which  the  decision 
was  unreservedly  left  whether  to  accept  or  reject  it,  so  far  as 
that  state  was  concerned.  There  was  no  direct  action  of  the 
people  in  the  nature  of  a  popular  vote,  nor  were  the  respective 
conventions  elected  by  any  uniform  or  unqualified  suffrage. 
They  met  at  various  dates  without  any  co-operation.  Severe 
contests  occurred  in  many  eases.  New  York  ratified  by  a  ma- 
jority of  three  only;  in  Massachusetts  the  votes  were  187  to 
168;  North  Carolina  declined  to  act;  Rhode  Island  continued 
aloof  altogether. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  keep  these  facts  in  view  in  weighing 
the  arguments  of  those  who  deny  the  right  of  secession.  The 
whole  of  them  appear  to  be  tak:en  from  Webster's  speech  on  the 
nullification  of  South   Carolina,  one  of  the   finest  examples  of 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  139 

rhetorical  power  in  our  language,  yet  obviously  the  address  of 
an  advocate ;  singularly  forcible  in  language,  not  less  barren  in 
facts ;  based  on  epithets,  parts  of  sentences,  informal  phrases — 
these  used  with  consummate  ability,  as  the  narrow  foundation 
for  so  imposing  a  superstructure  of  rhetoric,  and  so  sonorous  a 
volume  of  eloquence  as  overwhelm  the  hearer,  and  sweep  the 
judgment  from  historical  records  of  undisputed  authenticity. 

These  arguments,  whenever  used,  are  accompanied  by  glow- 
ing descriptions  of  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  Union, 
and  by  appeals  to  nationafity.  The  rapid  extension  of  the 
United  States  has  profluced  of  late  years  a  new  school  of  politi- 
cal belief.  Under  its  influence  a  wide  change  has  occurred  from 
the  views  of  those  who  framed  the  Constitution.  There  is  no 
longer  a  citizen  of  the  United  States ;  he  has  become  an  Ameri- 
can. Intense  jealousy  of  centralized  power  has  changed  into 
admiration  of  administrative  unity,  and  has  even  ripened  into 
a  craving  for  "strong  government."  The  words  nation  and 
nationality  appear  almost  in  every  sentence  of  every  argument 
on  this  suliject,  although  it  is  on  record  that  the  term  "National 
government,"  which  appeared  in  the  first  draft  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, was  struck  out  in  the  Convention,  on  the  ground  of  its 
being  inapplicable  to  the  facts,  and  opposed  to  the  intentions  of 
the  parties.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  this  motion  was  carried 
unanimously. 

Here  is  at  once  a  remarkable  discrepancy  between  the  views 
of  those  who  framed  the  Constitution  and  the  doctrines  prevail- 
ing at  the  present  day.  We  shall  soon  arrive,  as  in  all  such 
cases,  at  questions  of  interpretation.  Whom  are  we  to  take  as 
our  guides — the  framers  of  the  instrument,  whose  evidence  is  on 
record,  or  those  who  read  it,  influenced  by  the  altered  feelings  of 
the  present  day  ?  Mr.  Lincoln  lately  observed  that  the  inten- 
tion of  the  law-giver  is  the  law.  If  so,  we  shall  be  more  likely 
to  find  what  the  law  really  is  by  studying  the  intentions  -of  its 
framers,  as  expressed  in  their  own  words,  than  through  the 
eloquence,  however  graceful,  of  partial  advocates  of  the  present 
period. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  discard  from  our  view  all  consideration 
of  the  prosperity  of  the   United   States,   from  whatever  cause 


1-tO  The    AMERICAN    UNION. 

arising.  Were  the  inquiry  into  the  wisdom  or  expediency  of 
secession,  this  would  have  great  weight,  but  with  an  examination 
of  legal  right  it  has  no  concern.  The  descriptions  put  forward 
are  offered  as  proof  of  possession,  and  presumptive  evidence 
against  the  right  asserted.  But  a  person  may  be  in  possession  of 
a  magnificent  estate,  enjoying  the  reputation  of  owner,  endowed 
by  it  with  wealth,  and  surrounded  with  authority ;  yet  when 
there  is  occasion  to  examine  the  title  deeds-,  it  maybe  found  that 
another,  remote,  unheard  of,  has  just  and  legal  rights  in  the 
property.  That  distant  man,  be  he  never  so  poor,  must  have  a 
hearing.  Questions  of  right  may  not  be  debarred  because  they 
are  inconvenient  to  discuss,  or  by  holding  it  absurd  to  question 
the  title  with  him  who  derives  such  wealth  and  advantages  from 
possession  of  the  estate. 

Secession  is  by  no  means  a  novel  doctrine.  In  the  first  session 
of  Congress  under  the  new  Constitution  it  was  threatened  in  the 
first  serious  contest  that  arose ;  and  this  in  the  presence  of  sev- 
eral of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution.  Again,  when  Washing- 
ton expressed  reluctance  to  be  elected  as  President  for  a  second 
term,  Jefferson  wrote  to  urge  his  assent ;  aud  the  weightiest 
reason  he  assigned  in  proof  that  the  country  required  experience 
at  the  head  of  affairs  was  this — that  the  coming  election  would 
involve  great  danger  of  a  "  secession  from  the  Union  "  of  those 
who  should  be  defeated.  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  this 
right  would  have  been  openly  declared  by  members  of  Congress, 
or  that  the  probability  of  the  event  would  have  been  thus  urged 
on  Washington,  had  it  been  regarded  by  public  opinion  as  an 
illegal  or  treasonable  act.*  Jt  seems  rather  to  be  inferred  that 
there  existed  in  the  minds  of  those  who  with  the  facts  so  recent 

*  Since  the  text  was  written  we  have  found  a  passage  in  an  American  authority 
precisely  corroborating  the  view  expressed.  "William  Rawle,  a  Northerner,  of 
legal  eminence,  in  his  Mork  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  is  so  far 
from  being  a  secessionist  that  he  writes  thus  page  298  :  'In  every  respect,  there- 
fore, which  this  great  subject  presents,  we  feel  the  deepest  impression  of  a  sacred 
obligation  to  preserve  the  union  of  our  country;  we  feel  our  glory,  our  safety,  and 
our  happiness  involved  in  it."  In  spite  of  these  strong  feelings,  he  observes,  page 
297.  when  referring  to  the  Constitution:  "It  was  foreseen  that 'there  would  be  a 
natural  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  states  with  the  anticipated  increase 
of  population.  It  was  well  known,  though  it  was  not  avowed,  that  a  state  might 
withdraw  itself." 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    KIGHT  ?  141 

were  most  competent  to  judge  a  conviction  that  the  right  existed 
and  might  be  exercised — that  able  and  just  government  would 
avoid  it — but  still  that  it  was  there. 

The  doctrine,  indeed,  has  been  maintained  and  loudly  de- 
clared, both  in  the  North  and  South,  at  frecjuent  periods  in  the 
history  of  the  Union.  Jefferson,  in  his  Ana,  refers  to  that  occa- 
sion of  its  being  first  raised  in  Congress,  and  observes  that  it 
was  the  Eastern,  that  is,  the  Northern  states  who  especially 
threatened  to  secede.  He  describes  a  walk  with  Hamilton,  in 
which  the  latter  painted  pathetically  the  danger  of  the  secession 
of  their  members,  and  the  separation  of  the  states.  And  the 
Northern  states  were  the  first  to  raise  it  practically.  The  war 
of  1813  was  highly  unpopular  in  that  district,  and  when  called 
upon-by  the  President  to  supply  their  quotas  of  militia,  they  ab- 
solutely declined.  In  the  words  of  Jefferson  to  Lafayette  : 
"  During  that  war  four  of  the  Eastern  states  were  only  attached 
to  the  Union  like  so  many  inanimate  bodies  to  living  men." 
But  they  went  far  beyond  inaction.  Tlicy  called  a  convention 
at  Hartford,  of  which  the  proceedings  were  suppressed,  but  the 
object  is  well  known  ;  a  flag  appeared  with  five  stripes,  secession 
was  threatened  in  the  loudest  terms,  nor  can  there  be  a  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  any  one  who  studies  the  events  of  that  period  that 
the  New  England  states  would  have  seceded  from  the  Union 
had  the  war  continued. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  has  threatened,  indeed,  on  four 
separate  occasions  to  secede  from  the  Union.  First,  in  the 
debates  referred  to  on  the  adjustment  of  the  state  debts ; 
secondly  on  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  its  admission  into 
the  Union;  thirdly,  during  the  war  of  1813;  and  fourthly,  on 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  when  we  believe  one  chamber  of  her 
legislature  actually  passed  a  vote  of  secession.  On  these  occa- 
sions it  was  no  mere  act  of  excited  individuals,  but  the  general 
voice  of  the  community.  Yet  this  state  is  now  the  loudest  in 
denouncing  it  when  inconvenient  to  herself;  and  a  bastile  is 
now  said  to  be  preparing  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  for  the  incar- 
ceration of  those  as  pilitical  prisoners  who  simply  utter  the 
opinions  which,  when  it  suited,  this  very  state  has  so  often  and  so 
vehemently  expressed. 


142  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

It  has  been  a  popular  illustration  with  the  advocates  of  the 
Union  that  if  a  state  may  secede,  so  may  a  county  from  a  state, 
or  a  town  from  a  county,  until  society  break  up  into  chaos.  The 
fallacy  of  this  is  very  obvious.  A  state  claims  to  secede  in 
virtue  of  its  right  as  a  sovereignty.  When  a  county  becomes  a 
sovereignty  it  may  prefer  an  equal  claim,  but  then  it  cannot  be 
a  county.  The  comparison  fails  in  other  respects.  The  seces- 
sion of  a  state  from  others  is  the  case  of  men  who  separate  ;  the 
secession  of  a  county  would  be  that  of  a  limb  torn  from  the  body. 
There  is  also  no  such  practical  danger  as  that  which  has  been 
described.  The  secession  of  a  single  state  would  be  suicidal ;  it 
would  be  surrounded  with  custom-houses,  cramped  with  restric- 
tions, and  crushed  under  the  expenses  involved.  North  Caro- 
lina and  Rhode  Island,  after  refusing  to  join  the  Uniopj  and 
holding  out  for  more  than  two  years,  were  at  last  constrained  to 
accede  by  the  same  causes  which  will  always  prevent  any  state 
from  attempting  to  stand  alone.  Practically,  the  right  could  not 
be  exercised,  even  if  conceded,  except  by  a  number  of  states 
together,  sufficient  in  resources  to  enable  them  to  maintain  their 
position,  and  to  endure  the  heavy  cost  of  a  separate  government. 
Indeed,  if  justly  governed,  it  is  by  no  means  clear  why  there 
should  be  any  desire  to  secede. 

A  much  more  subtle  argument  was  used  by  Jefferson,  since 
often  repeated.  He  observed  that  if  one  state  claimed  the  right 
to  secede  from  the  rest,  the  others  would  have  equal  right  to 
s  ecede  from  one  state,  which  would  amount  to  turning  it  out  of 
the  Union.  The  argument  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  a 
state  claiming  the  one  and  objecting  to  the  other,  would  exhibit  a 
conflict  of  principles.  But  a  state  would  protest  against  ejection 
because  it  involves  compulsion ;  and  she  claims  a  right  to  retire, 
because  if  compelled  to  remain,  that  is  equally  a  compulsory 
restraint.  Both  really  involve  the  same  principle ;  ejection  and 
imprisonment  are  equally  acts  of  compulsion ;  and  this  principle 
is  alike  objected  to  in  both  cases. 

It  has  been  argued  that  a  state  would  thus  claim  the  right  to 
exercise  her  will  against  the  others,  while  denying  them  the 
right  to  use  their  will  as  against  herself  But  the  case  is  not  one. 
of  will  within  the  limit  of  individual  action,  but  of  compulsion 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  143 

extendingr  to  and  exercised  over  another.  A  state  compelled  to 
go  or  to  remain  has  a  forcible  restraint  imposed  on  its  will ;  but 
in  seceding  it  imposes  no  restraint  on  the  will  of  others — they  re- 
main free  to  follow  or  continue  as  before. 

Another  illustration  frequently  used  reminds  us  that  the 
United  Kingdom  is  a  Union.  It  is  asked  how  we  should  like 
Ireland  to  secede.  A  natural  reply  would  be  that  if  Ireland 
were  a  slave-owning  country  we  should  not  only  approve  of  her 
seceding,  but  insist  upon  it.  We  might  first  strive  to  prevail 
upon  her  to  alter  the  system ;  but  if  that  proved  impossible,  or 
she  refused  to  comply,  there  is  assuredly  no  thought  of  profit  or 
advantage  that  would  induce  this  country  to  maintain  such  a 
partnership.  If  the  argument  be  seriously  brought  forward,  it 
would  appear  singular  it  should  not  be  known  that  our  system 
differs  from  that  of  the  United  States,  and  that  rights  may  exist 
under  the  one  that  are  unknown  to  the  other.  We  have  not  yet 
proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  in  Ireland,  or  taught 
that  governments  rest  in  the  "  consent  of  the  governed,"  and 
may  be  abolished  when  no  longer  promoting  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness. The  systems  spring  from  different  roots ;  and  to  impute 
to  them  similar  results  is  to  argue  that  different  trees  might  bear 
the  same  fruit. 

Another  case  has  been  urged,  that  of  Florida,  a  district  which 
has  proved  costly  to  the  Union  from  local  wars  with  the  Indians, 
light-liouses,  and  even  the  first  cost  of  the  soil ;  on  which  grounds 
an  appeal  is  made  to  a  sense  of  justice.  Those  who  address 
themselves  to  a  sense  of  justice  are  not  fortuuate  in  taking 
Florida  as  their  ground,  and  seem  to  have  forgotten  how  the 
Union  abstracted  it  from  Spain.  Apart  from  this,  these  matters 
are  altogether  beside  the  question  of  constitutional  right.  Se- 
cession, if  lawfiil,  gives  no  right  to  light-houses  without  paying  for 
them,  and  the  fact  of  having  built  light-houses  is  no  answer  to  the 
right  of  secession.  To  leave  a  partnership  is  one  thing;  another 
to  settle  accounts  with  the  firm.  The  impression  exists  that  the 
people  of  the  South  proposed,  from  tin;  fir.st.  to  jjay  for  all  Fed- 
eral property,  and  sent  commissioners  to  Washington  to  arrange 
this.  If  against  the  share  to  be  paid  to  the  North,  there  were 
placed  the  amount  abstracted  by  it  through  its  tariffs  during  the 


144  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

last  thirty-five  years,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  South  would 
have  money  to  receive. 

It  has  been  urged  that  reasonable  men  would  not  have  framed 
a  system  exposed  to  ruin  at  any  time  by  the  secession  of  its  con- 
stituents. But  the  question  is  not  whether  the  terms  of  the 
compact  were  wise  or  prudent,  but  simply  what  those  terms  are, 
and  the  force  they  possess.  Mwn  make  injudicious  wills,  but 
these  cannot  be  disputed  on  the  ground  of  their  narrow  wisdom. 
The  argument  ignores,  too,  the  facts  which  surrounded  the  fram- 
ing of  the  Constitution.  It  was  the  result,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
a  series  of  compromises.  Hence,  that  which  may  appear  un- 
reasonable for  any  community  to  have  enacted  for  itself,  is 
reasonable  enough  when  viewed  correctly,  as  the  best  system  it 
was  possible  to  compass  under  the  circumstances. 

Much  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  term  "  supreme,"  as  applied 
to  the  Federal  laws.  In  reality  their  only  supremacy  is  in  extent 
— in  extending  throughout  the  whole  country,  while  the  action 
of  a  state  law  is  confined  within  its  boundaries.  Apart  from 
this,  the  state  is  as  supreme  as  the  Federal  law.  No  question 
exists  of  relative  rank,  of  any  superiority;  each  is  supreme  in  its 
own  department,  both  are  equally  powerless  beyond  it.  The 
Federal  government  has,  indeed,  no  absolute  law-making  power ; 
for  all  its  laws  are  liable  to  be  declared  void  by  the  Supreme 
court.  That  court,  as  we  have  seen,  declared  null  and  void  the 
most  important  law  ever  passed  by  the  Federal  legislature — the 
Missouri  compromise.  It  sits  not  merely  as  the  interpreter,  but 
as  the  judge  of  the  law. 

It  has  been  argued  that  the  present  Constitution  differs  in 
principle  from  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  in  enabling  the 
Federal  government  to  act  directly  on  individuals,  instead  of 
doing  so  through  the  state  governments.  The  inference  is 
drawn  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  has  been  surrendered 
by  this  concession.  Had  such  a  right  been  committed  to  a 
foreign  government  or  to  any  substantive  power,  this  might  have 
been  a  natural  inference.  But  the  Federal  government  has  no 
substantive  power,  and  is  only  the  joint  agent  of  the  states. 
These  act  directly  on  their  own  citizens,  each  through  its  special 
governn>ent  or  agent  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.    They  agree 


IS    SECESSION    A    CDNSTITU  TIUN  Al.    RIGHT?  145 

to  act  on  them  through  the  federal  or  comnioii  agent  in  certain 
other  specified  cases.  This  is  simply  a  more  effective  manner  of 
procedure,  a  question  of  detail,  greatly  improving  the  adminis- 
tration, but  affecting  in  nowise  the  question  of  sovereignty. 
Further,  it  was  pointed  out  by  Madison  in  the  Convention  that 
the  principle  itself  was  not  new,  but  existed  under  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  in  several  cases  wliich  he  specified. 

A  federal  republic  is  a  partnership  of  republics.  It  has  been 
argued  that  admitting  this  to  be  the  case,  still,  when  once  formed, 
it  could  not  be  dissolved  by  one  without  the  consent  of  the 
others.  But  a  very  common  form  of  partnership  in  this  and 
other  countries  is  partnership  at  will ;  from  this  any  one  party 
may  retire  without  consulting  the  rest.  And  it  seems  to  have 
escaped  observation  how  much  wider 'ftre  the  powers  of  a  sover- 
eign state  than  those  of  a  private  individual.  To  a  partnership 
of  states  the  words  of  Madison  aj)ply :  •'  When  resort  can  be 
had  to  no  common  superior,  the  parties  to  the  compact  must 
themselves  be  the  rightful  judges  whether  the  bargain  has  been 
pursued  or  violated." 

It  has,  indeed,  been  contended  that  the  principles  of  a  part- 
nership at  will  could  not  apply,  because  this  was  to  last  for  ever. 
On  the  point  of  duration  the  Constitution  is  silent,  except  in 
what  is  merely  the  expression  of  a  desire,  in  the  preamble,  "  to 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity." 
On  this  subject  there  is  no  enactment  or  injunction.  But  on 
turning  to  the  previous  "  Articles  of  Confederation,"  we  find  in 
the  title  the  words  "perpetual  union,"  and  in  the  body  the 
express  injunction — "And  the  union  shall  be  perpetual."  On 
this  point  they  clearly  possessed  greater  force  than  that  of  the 
Constitution  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  they  were  terminated 
at  the  end  of  a  few  years,  and  that,  too,  with  liberty  to  any 
state  to  leave  the  federation  altogether.  The  Union  has  there- 
fore proved  by  its  own  act  that  terms  of  this  nature  have  no 
force  of  law,  but  simply  indicate  the  intention  and  the  desire  of 
the  parties  at  the  time.  We  find,  too,  that  the  Federal  govern- 
ment entered  into  a  close  alliance  with  France,  the  terms  of 
which  strongly  enjoined  that  it  should  last  for  ever,  yet  these 
IS 


146  THE    AMERlCAiS     UNION. 

terms  were  held  to  be  no  obstacle  to  annulling  it  without  the 
consent  of  the  other  party.* 

On  turning  to  the  Constitution,  it  causes  surprise  to  find  that 
no  prohibition  of  secession  exists  in  it.  Those  who  framed  it 
were  men  well  versed  in  public  affairs,  surrounded  by  angry 
passions,  employed  in  the  very  act  of  breaking  up  a  Constitu- 
tion, if,  indeed,  it  may  not  be  said,  of  seceding  from  one  of  the 
states,  for  Rhode  Island  continued  to  adhere  to  it.  They  pro- 
vided for  a  state  dividing  into  two  or  more — for  several  uniting 
into  one — for  the  admission  of  states  yet  to  come  into  existence. 
Why,  then,  this  remarkable  omission  ?  A  contingency  far  more 
probable  than  these  was  that  of  a  state  becoming  dissatisfied, 
and  desiring  to  separate.  Was  such  an  omission  the  result  ,of 
negligence,  of  inability  to«»foresee  so  probable  an  event,  or  was 
it  the  result  of  design  ? 

It  has  been  contended  that  It  would  have  been  improper  to 
forbid  a  state  to  withdraw — that  it  would  have  been  "futlTe  and 
undignified  "  to  have  added  to  a  law,  "  And  be  It  furtlier  enacted 


*In  addition  to  the  various  positions  we  have  examined,  an  able  argument  of 
Madison's  appears  to  be  relied  U])on  by  the  snpportei'S  of  the  Union,  thongh  it 
seems  to  us  to  be  entirely  beside  the  question.  He  observes:  '■  The  Constitution 
being  thus  derived  from  the  same  source  as  the  constitutions  of  the  states,  it  has 
within  each  state  the  same  authority  as  the  constitution  of  that  state  ;  and  is  as 
much  a  constitution,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  within  its  prescribed  sphere, 
as  the  constitutions  of  the  states  are  witliin  their  respective  spheres;  but  with 
this  essential  difference,  that  being  a  compact  among  the  states  in  their  highest 
sovereign  capacity,  and  constituting  the  people  thereof  one  people  for  certain- 
purposes,  it  cannot  be  altered  or  annulled  at  the  will  of  the  states  individually,  as 
the  constitution  of  a  state  may  be  at  its  individual  will."  We  entirely  agree  in 
these  views,  and  in  the  verdict  that  the  Constitution  cannot  be  •■  altered  or 
annulled  "  at  the  will  of  one  state.  But  a  state  that  secedes  does  not  propose  to 
alter  or  to  annul  one  word ;  that  state  leaves  the  Constitution  intact  in  tJie  enjoy- 
ment of  the  rest.  To  alter  or  annul  a  law  would  be  to  continue  parties  to  a  com- 
pact, and  yet  dispute  its  terms.  It  is  strange  that  these  words  of  Madison  should 
be  relied  upon  by  those  who  also  rely  iipon  Webster  when  he  denies  what  is  here 
truly  asserted  that  the  Constitution  is  '•  a  compact  among  the  states,  in  their 
highest  sovereign  capacity."  Now,  if  sovereign  states  enter  into  a  compact  which 
expresses  no  period  of  duration,  it  is  clear  any  one  of  them  may  withdraw  from  it 
at  will.  Otherwise,  that  state  would  be  constrained  oy  some  will  or  force  external 
to  Itself,  and  so  far  would  be  in  subjection  to  that  will  of  others,  and  be  a  subject 
not  a  sovereignty.  To  alter  or  annul  a  law  would  interfere  with  the  rights  of 
others;  to  withdraw  from  it  is  to  exercise  a  right  self-contained,  and  vrhich  doet 
not  of  necessity  affect  any  other  party. 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  147 

that  tlie  said  law  shall  not  be  violated."  But  this  is  just  what 
all  law  has  to  do ;  and  that  which  does  it  not  is  not  law.  Who 
had  the  powers  of  a  law-giver  over  independent,  sovereign 
states,  entering  into  a  compact  of  their  own  free  will  ?  And 
where  is  the  law,  either  to.  ic  violated  or  obeyed  ?  There  is  a 
provision  for  a  state  separating  into  pieces,  and  this  appears 
quite  as  undignified  as  to  provide  against  a  state,  whole  and 
intact,  separating  from  the  rest.  There  is  provision  against  the 
treason  of  individuals ;  and  if  a  state  can  also  commit  treason,  it 
would  be  strange  law  that  provided  against  crime  on  a  small 
scale,  omitting  to  deal  with  it  when  on  a  large  one.  The  men 
who  framed  the  Constitution  were  eminently  practical  men.  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  they  would  slight  so  formidable  a  dan- 
ger. Why,  then,  the  omission  ?  For  the  soundest  and  wisest 
reasons,  which  we  have  on  record  from  their  own  lips. 

In  the  first  place,  had  there  been  inserted  in  the  Constitution 
a  compulsory  clause  of  this  nature  it  would  have  been  impossible 
to  obtain  the  ratification  of  the  states.  Very  difficulty  at  the 
present  day  would  it  be  to  obtain  the  assent  to  such  a  clause 
even  of  the  Northern  states.  Theoretically,  nothing  would  be 
easier,  but  when  it  came  to  the  point  it  would  hardly  be  possible 
to  prevail  upon  Massachusetts,  even  at  this  day,  to  abandort  for 
ever  her  often  asserted  independence  and  sovereignty,  and 
accept  in  reality  and  truth  that  position  in  which  she  is  said  now 
to  exist  —  that  of  the  province  of  a  wider  power.  And  if  there 
would  now  be  such  practical  difficulty  with  the  state  whose 
present  professions  are  those  most  favorable  to  the  step,  how 
great  would  have  been  the  obstacles  when  all  the  states  were  to 
be  included,  many  hostile  to  and  jealous  of  the  rest,  and  when 
the  ta.sk  was  regarded  and  proved  to  be  all  but  impossible  with- 
out this  further  and  strong  element  of  repugnance  ? 

In  tlie  ne.xt  place,. the  framers  of  the  Constitution  perceived 
that  .should  they  forbid  the  retirement  of  a  state  they  must  pro- 
vide means  fb  prevent  it,  otherwise  it  would  be  an  idle  precept, 
a  mere  solicitation  to  remain.  Other  fpu'stions  might  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Supreme  court,  but  a  retiring  state  withdrew  from 
its  jurisdiction.  Other  forms  of  delincjuency  could  be  visited 
on  individual.s,  but  here  was  the  action  of  a  whole  counuunity 


148  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Good  will  must  have  died  out  before  it  could  occur ;  argument 
would  be  vain  ;  there  could  be  no  appeal  except  to  force.  But 
no  force  was  to  be  created  adequate  to  an  undertaking  of  this 
nature.  The  first  act  under  the  Constitution  for  regulating  the 
military  establishment  provided  for  a  standing  force  of  only 
1,21G  rank  and  file.  True,  in  case  of  need  this  might  be  in- 
creased ;  but  a  cardinal  principle  with  the  people  was  to  distrust 
standing  armies;  a  subject  on  which  their  feeling  was  jealous  iu 
the  extreme.  It  was  Impracticable  to  run  counter  to  this,  even 
so  far  as  to  provide  the  framework  of  an  army  equal  to  such  an 
object.  The  only  possible  force  would  be  that  of  the  remaining 
states,  to  be  employed  in  coercing  those  that  desired  to  secede. 
On  such  a  proposition  tlfe  views  of  the  two  chief  framers  of  the 
Constitution  are  on  record.  In  the  Convention,  on  the  31st 
May,  1787,  Madison  declared  that  "the  use  of  force  against  a 
state  would  be  more  like  a  declaration  of  war  than  an  Infliction 
of  punishment,  and  would  probably  be  considered  by  the  party 
attacked  as  a  dissolution  of  all  previous  compacts  ;  a  union  of 
states  containing  such  an  Ingredient  seemed  to  provide  for  Its 
own  destruction."  Again,  on  the  8th  June,  he  observed:  "  Any 
government  formed  on  the  supposed  practicability  of  using  force  • 
against  the  unconstitutional  proceedings  of  the  states,  would 
prove  as  visionary  and  fallacious  as  the  government  of  Con- 
gress." 

Hamilton,  In  that  gi'eat  authority,  the  "  Federalist,"  after 
showing  the  futility  of  employing  force  against  a  state,  con- 
cludes thus :  "  When  the  sword  Is  once  drawn  the  passions  of 
men  observe  no  bounds  of  moderation.  The  suggestions  of 
wounded  pride,  the  Instigations  of  resentment,  would  be  apt  to 
carry  the  states  against  which  the  arms  of  the  Union  were 
exerted  to  any  extreme  to  avenge  the  affront,  or  to  avoid  the 
disgrace  of  submission.  The  first  war  of  this  kind  would  prob- 
ably terminate  In  a  dissolution  of  the  Union."  In  one  of  the 
debates  in  the  New  York  state  convention,  HalTiUton  made 
use  of  these  words :  "  To  coerce  a  state  would  be  one  of  the 
maddest  projects  ever  devised.  No  state  would  ever  suffer  Itself 
to  be  used  as  the  Instrument  of  coercing  another."  His  far-see- 
ing description  In  the  "Federalist"  is  but  too  ajDplIcable  to  the 


IS    SECESSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL   RIGHT?  140 

events  of  the  present  day;  and  remarkable  it  is  that  he,  the 
master  spirit  of  the  Unionists,  should  have  denounced  as  "  mad- 
ness" that  coercion  which  is  ado))ted  by  his  followers  at- the 
pj-esent  day. 

But  there  was  a  Consideration  of  still  higher  import.  The 
Constitution  was  a  voluntary  act,  framed  on  the  principles  of 
free,  mutual  assent,  and  common  belief  in  its  advantages.  To 
introduce  force  as  a  means  of  maintaining  it  Avould  be  repug- 
nant to  these  princii)les.  It  would  be  a  commencement  on  the 
voluntary  system  to  be  continued  under  compulsion.  Force  is 
an  attribute  of  monarchy ;  the  throne  represents  and  wields  the 
strength  of  the  nation.  Each  part  is  subservient  to  the  whole, 
and  none  can  re^*lt  without  foreknowledge  of  this  force  to 
encounter  and  overthrow.  But  the  basis  of  a  federal  republic 
is  the  reverse  of  all  this.  It  stands  upon  consent,  which  is 
the  abnegation  of  force.  In  place  of  the  submission  of  part  to 
the  whole,  the  parties  are  coequal.  Compulsion  is  not  only 
inapplicable,  but  opposed  to  the  principle  of  the  system.  And 
the  men  of  that  day  were  too  logical  to  be  unaware  of  this ; 
they  declined  to  incorporate  with  the  structure  they  were  rear- 
ing a  principle  directly  antagonistic  to  it. 

One  effect  of  this  omission  of  any  clause  forbidding  secession 
is  to  compel  those  who  deny  the  right  to  proceed  on  a  system  of 
inferences.  Of  these  the  most  prominent  is  this  :  from  a  por- 
tion of  a  phrase  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution,  "  we  the 
people,"  they  would  have  it  inferred  that  the  United  States 
exist  under  it  in  the  condition  of  a  single  consolidated  state. 
We  have  already  seen  that  unity  does  exist  in  a  popular,  in  a 
conunercial,  and  also  in  a  political  sense,  so  far  as  e.\ternal  rela- 
tions are  concerned.  Does  it  exist  in  the  domestic  politics  of 
the  Union,  the  .<!ole  point  in  question  ?  There  is  an  unsatisfac- 
tory feature  common  to  those  who  argue  against  the  right  of 
secession.  They  endeavor  to  convey  impressions  of  a  fact  which 
they  refrain  from  stating  in  plain  terms.  It  is  clear  that  the 
phrase  "  wc,  the  people,"  can  have  no  bearing  on  the  question 
unless  it  indicate  a  single  community,  a  consolidated  state.  This 
is  the  belief  to  be  conveyed,  the  theory  on  which  the  whole 
argument  is  built ;  yet  no  one  of  those  u.sing  it  has  the  courage 


150  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

to  state  it  plainly  as  a  fact,  and  say  the  Constitution  created  a 
single  consolidated  state.  Either  it  did  so  or  it  did  not.  The 
question  is  far  too  large  to  be  -solved  by  part  of  a  sentence  so 
interpreted  as  to  contradict  the  rest  of  it.  We  must  search  into 
the  facts,  and  weigh  the  tenor  of  the  Constitution  itself;  and 
this  is  the  more  important,  as  we  may  find  in  the  end  that  the 
question  of  secession  as  a  right  may  turn  upon  this  point  in  one 
view  to  be  taken  of  it. 

We  have  seen  that  the  present  is  not  the  first  Constitution  of 
the  Union.  The  Convention  appointed  tO'  revise  the  "  Articles 
of  Confederation"  had  no  general  authority.  It  was  summoned 
by  an  act  of  Congress  which  strictly  defined  its  object  and 
powers  in  these  words:  "For  the  purpose«of  revising  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation,  and  for  reporting  to  the  several  legisla- 
tures such  alterations  and  provisions  therein  as  should,  when 
agreed  to  in  Congress  and  confirmed  by  the  states,  render  the 
Federal  compact  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  government  and 
the  preservation  of  the  Union."  There  is  clearly  no  authority 
here  to  frame  a  new  system  or  effect  organic  change,  but  simply 
to  make  "  alterations  and  provisions"  —  to  effect  a  vigorous  re- 
form. It  will  be  observed,  too,  there  is  no  mention  of  the  people, 
but  invariably  of  the  states.  The  limits  of  their  powers  were 
not  overlooked  by  the  members  of  the  Convention;  they  are 
contlnu^-lly  referred  to  in  their  debates.  They  could  not  desire 
to  exceed  their  authority,  seeing  that  the  next  step  was  to  refer 
the  instrument  to  Congress  for  its  approval  —  to  the  very  source 
of  their  authority,  whose  sanction  was  essential  to  the  success  of 
their  labors. 

Now,  the  "  Articles  of  Confederation"  expressly  declare  that 
"  each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence." 
They  mutually,  acknowledge  each  other  as  distinct,  sovereign 
communities;  and  in  this  capacity  they  send  delegates  to  a  Con- 
vention for  the  purpose  of  reforming  the  government  —  their 
agent  —  and  effecting  such  improvements  in  its  machinery  and 
details  as  would  render  it  efficient.  Curtis  remarks  :  "  We  must 
observe  the  position  of  the  states  when  thus  assembled  in  Con- 
vention. Their  meeting  was  purely  voluntary;  they  met  as 
equals ;  and  they  were  sovereign  political  confmunities,  whom 


IS    SECESSION    A    rONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  151 

no  powei"  could  rightfully  coerce  into  a  change  of  their  con- 
dition." This  being  so,  it  seems  to  require  stronger  evidence 
than  a  mere  epithet  to  prove  that  each  of  them  abdicated  tliis 
sovereignty,  and  beyond  this,  to  explain  also  to  whom  it  passed. 

And  when  a  phi-ase  is  used  it  would  seem  natural  to  take  the 
whole  of  the  wor(Js,  which  are  these :  "  We,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union."  A 
union  of  what?  If  formed  by  the  Constitution  into  a  single 
state,  or  if  existing  as  a  single  jieople,  of  what  could  there  be  a 
union  ?  Union  witliouf  plurality  is  a  contradiction  of  ideas. 
Thus  we  are  invited  to  attach  a  meaning  to  an  ei)Ithet  opposed 
to  the  sense  of  the  terms.  The  words,  "  We,  the  people,"  are 
used  collectively  to  say,  "  We,  the  communities  known  as  the 
United  States,  in  order  to  form  between  ourselves  a  more  perfect 
union."  We  say,  "  The  people  of  Germany,"  but  this  would  not 
mean  a  consolidated  state  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  term  may  be 
used  with  propriety,  although  it  would  embrace  kingdoms  and 
republics  entirely  apart  in  domestic  politics.  There  is  also  evi- 
dence of  the  true  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  this  fact.  When  the 
first  draft  of  the  Constitution  was  reported  by  the  "  Committee 
of  Detail,"  it  st(jod  thus :  "  We,  the  people  of  the  states  of  New 
Hami)shire,  Massachusetts,"  etc.,  reciting  the  names  of  all  the 
states  at  length.  But  on  consideration,  it  was  obvious  that  some 
miglit  not  ratify;  indeed  this  was  expected.  Hence,  to  avoid 
the  inconvenience  of  reciting  those  who  afterward  might  not 
actually  become  parties  to  it,  the  title  was  abbreviated.  Its  true 
meaning  is  here  plainly  seen;  and  equally  plain  it  is  that  a  mere 
abbreviation  coiild  not  alter  the  intention  of  tlie  parties. 

It  has  also  been  endeavored  to  imp  irt  a  peculiar  force  to  this 
epithet  by  the  deduction  that  it  proved  the  popular  action,  and 
so  gave  the  sanction  of  its  being  a  direct  manifestation  of  the 
people's  will.  The  defect  in  this  argument  is  that  of  being  di- 
rectly opposed  to  historical  record.  It  is  the  fact  that  after  the 
Constitution  was  framed  by  delegates  of  the  states,  approved  by 
the  Congress  appoinU-'d  by  the  states,  and  refcrreil  to  the  legisla- 
tures of  the  states,  it  was  finally  ratified  by  a  convention  called 
in  each  state  for  the  purpose.  This  convention  was  elected  by 
such  of  the  people  of  the  state  as  were  then  electors,  or  rather  by 


152  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

those  of  them  who  cared  to  vote ;  for  in  Pennsylvania,  out  of 
seventy  thousand  voters,  it  is  stated  that  the  majority  who  voted 
for  ratification  was  elected  by  six  thousand  eight  hundred  only. 
The  decision  whether  to  ratify  or  not  was  left  absolutely  to  these 
conventions;  they  acted  independently  on  their  own 'judgment. 
Their  decision,  therefore,  was  an  act  of  the  people,  simply  as  a 
vote  of  the  House  of  Commons  may  be  called  an  act  of  the 
people,  and  in  no  other  sense.  And  not  only  is  the  argument 
founded  on  popular  action  apart  from  the  fact,  but  directly  op- 
posed to  it.  Had  the  Constitution  beeiJ  referred  to  the  popular 
will,  to  the  general  suffrage,  as  in  France,  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that  it  would  have  been  rejected  by  a  large  majority.  It  was 
framed  by  men  in  advance  of  their  age,  desirous  to  secure  the 
welfare  of  the  people  by  framing  a  code  they  well  knew  to  be 
opposed  to  the  popular  pas:sions  of  the  day.  As  we  have  seen, 
they  sat  with  closed  doors,  with  precautions  to  secure  secrecy, 
and  with  such  apprehensions  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  popu- 
lar ratification  as  to  provide  against  one-third  of  the  states  abso- 
lutely refusing  to  ratify. 

Of  all  the  members  of  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Con- 
stitution the  ablest  was  unquestionably  Madison.^  It  may  be  said 
it  -was  his  calm  judgment  and  indomitable  perseverance  that 
eventually  achieved  success.*  Hamilton  was,  indeed,  the  mas- 
ter spirit,  but  Madison  was  the  able  workman.  It  so  happens 
that  we  have  on  record  his  interpretation  of  this  very  phrase. 


*There  is  on  record  a  corresiJjndeiico  between  .Madison  and  Hamilton  oii  which 
an  effort  is  made  to  buil(\  an  argnment.  When  in  great  doxibt  whetlier  the  New 
York  convention  wuulJ  ratify  Hamilton  wrote  to  ask  Madison  if  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  permit  that  state  to  give  a  conditional  ratiification,  to  which  Madison  re- 
plied in  the  neg-ative.  asserting  that  the  ratification  must  be  absolute.  We  cannot 
see  that  these  private  letters  possess  any  force  or  throw  any  light  upon  the  sub- 
ject not  already  existing.  Madison  simply  stated  what  is  obvious  to  any  one  who 
reads  the  directions  of  Congress  tinder  which  tlie  Constitution  was  framed.  Could 
a  private  letter  or  the  reply  to  it  iiave  .any  force  upon  the  sovereign  rights  of  the 
State  of  Georgia,  a  tliousand  miles  off  and  as  ignorant  of  the  correspondence  at 
the  time  ad  the  people  of  New  ZeiUmd?  The  right  of  secession  can  only  be 
deduced  from  principles  Inherent  in  the  public  instruments  to  which  the  states 
were  parties  and  cm  only  bo  denied  upon  the  same  grounds.  We  may  add  that 
although  rritification  was  in  all  cases  absolute  the  State  of  Virginia  passed  simul- 
taneously an  act  declaring  the  riglit  "  to  resume"  the  powers  granted,  orin  other 
words,  the  right  t"  secede. 


IS  SECEssiov  A  roNSTTTUTioxAr,  RiCiHT?        1  ;"i3 

In  the  ratifying  convention  of  tlie  State  of  Virginia,  Patrick 
Ilenry  objeeted  strongly  to  the  words,  '^Ve,  the  j)eople,"  on 
the  ground  that  the  very  eonstruetion. might  be  given  to  them 
which  is  attempted  at  the  present  day.  But  Madison  at  once 
showed  such  construction  to  be  erroneous.  lie  replied  in  these 
words:  "  The  parties  to  it  were  to  be  the  people,  but  not  the 
people  as  composing  one  great  society,  but  the  people  as  ("ompos- 
ing  tliirteen  sovereignties."  Not  contented  with  giving  the  true 
meaning  of  the"  phrase,  he  adduced  an  argument  to  prove  it  by 
adding;  "If  it  woi-e  a  pure!y€onsolidated  government  the  assent 
of  a  majority  of  the  people  would  be  sufficient  to  establish  it. 
But  it  was  to  be  binding  on  the  people  of  a  state  only  by  their 
own  separate  consent."  This  argument  seems  conclusive;  and 
as  an  interpreter  of  the  meaning  of  the  terms,  none  will  attemjjt 
to  coni])are  the  authority  of  Mr.  Motley,  or  of  AVebster,  with  that 
of  Madison. 

We  have  seen  that  the  modern  interpretation  of  the  phrase  is 
contradicted  by  the  rest  of  the  sentence;  but'a  still  plainer  con- 
tradiction will  be  found  at  the  close  of  the  Constitution.  Those 
who  (lesire  to  discover  who  are  the  parties  to  an  instrument 
usually  refer  to  the  signatures.  On  doing  so,  we  find  the  Consti- 
tution thus  attested :  Art.  7.  "The  ratifications  of  the  conven- 
tions of  nine  states  shall  be  'sufficient  for  the  establishment  of 
this  Constitution  Ix^tween  th«  states  so  ratifying  the  same." 
"  Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  states 
present."  Here  follow  the  names  of  each  of  the  twelve  states 
who  were  jiartics  in  the  Convention,  and  under  each  name  those 
of  the  delegates  who  represented  and  signed  for  it. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  founier  of  these  two  .sentences  con- 
tains a  remarkable  expression  ;•  it  not  only  requires  ratification 
by  the  states  as  states,  but  describes  the  Constitution  as  estab- 
lished, not  over  the  people,  but  "between  the  .states."  In  the 
face  of  such  evidence  as  this,  in  the  most  important  part  of  the 
instrument,  it  appears  strange  tjiat  an  c])itliet  slioidd  be  si-lected 
from  the  preaml>le,  a  part  of  the  document  merely  introductory, 
and  an  interpretation  given  it  does  not  bear,  in  order  to  disprove 
that  the  states  are  the  parties  to  the  compact  whose  names, 
signed  for  each  by  its  connnissioncrs,  a])pear  at  the  foot  of  the 
instrument. 


15-1:  THE    AMERICAN    TNTON; 

If  we  turn  to  the  clauses  of  tlie  Constitution,  we  find  them  . 
directly  opposed  to  this  theory  of  a  single  people  or  state.  Were 
it  founded  in  fact,  the  first  result  under  a  republican  govern- 
ment would  be  uniformity  of  suffrage.  The  Constitiitlon  leaves 
it  to  each  state  to  ordain  what  suffrage  it  may  please.  One  state 
may  have  the  most  aristocratic  and  another  the  most  democratic 
of  electoral  constituencies,  without  the  slighest  power  in  the  Fed- 
eral government  to  interfere  with  either. 

Representatives  are  allotted  in  the  ratio  of  population ;  at  first, 
one  to  33,000,  now,  one  to  127,381*  Were  there  but  one  single 
state  or  people,  the  division  would  simply  be  made  throughout, 
for  the  difficulties  are  obvious-  when  the  ratio  is  applied  to  each 
state  as  a  separate  and  distinct  population.  There  are  now 
thVee  states  that  have  not  the  number  required  for  a  single  mem- 
ber; and  by  the  last  census  the  fraction  left  over,  unrepresented, 
in  the  state  of  Mississippi  is  larger  than  the  entire  population  of 
the  State  of  Oregon.  There  is  also  remarkable  evidence  on  this 
point.  WashingtoYi  exercised  once  his  power  to  veto  an  act  of 
Congress.  The  great  inconvenience  of  the  unrepresented  frac- 
tions when  the  divisor  is  applied  to  each  state  separately,  led  to 
an  act  of  Congress  under  which  it  would  have  been  applied  to 
the  population  as  a  whole.  This  was  objected  to  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  tend  to  obliterate  thft  distinct  individuality  of  the 
states  and  impair  the  federal  difiracter  of  J;he  system;  that  in 
fact  it  was  a  measure  of  consolidation.  This  act  was  vetoed  by 
Washington  on  the  express  ground  that  it  was  opposed  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution. 

On  turning  from  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  Senate, 
we  find  that  each  state  returns,  two  members  to  that  branch  of 
the  legislature  without  regard  to-other  attribute  than  its  distinct 
individuality.  A  comparison  has  been  made  between  this  posi- 
tion of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Lords.  The  House  of 
Lords  does  not  profess  to  be  a  representative  institution  or  an 
elected  body ;  the  Senate  does.  This  was  one  of  the  compro- 
mises made  in  the  Convention;  the  smaller  states  declined  to 
accede  on  other  terms.  In"  this  light,  as  an  unavoidable  result  of 
a  compact  between  the  states,  it  is  quite  intelligible.  But  it  ap- 
pears incredible  that  any  single  community  professing  to  act  on 


IS    SECKSSION    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT?  155 

princij)lcs  of  republican  ocjuality  would  jxive  to  Rhode  Island 
whose  population  is  174,000,  the  same  power  in  the  most  im- 
portant l)ranch  of  tlie  <iovernnient  as  that  of  New  York,  with  a 
population  of  4,000,000. 

AVhat,  indefd,  is  the  meaning  of  a  federal  republic  ?  Clearly 
it  means  a  government  constituted  of  several  constituent  repub- 
lics. To  assert  that  all  these  were  fused  into  one,  is  really  to 
deny  that  the  United  States  are  a  federal  republic.  This  would 
be  singular,  but  not  more  so  than  to  deny  the  existence  of  a 
federal  compact  because  its  terms  are  entitled  a  "  Constitu- 
tion ;"  as  if  the  nature  of  an  instrument  depended  on  the  nan\e 
given  to  it ;  as  if  also  those  who  framed  it  had  imposed  on  the 
country  something  different  from  that  which  alone  they  were 
empowered  to  frame  :  and  this,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  '■'■  federal 
compact  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  government.  What,  also, 
on  the  theory  of  a  single  people,  is  the  meaning  of  the  powers 
reserved  to  the  states  ?  These  powers  include  those  over  prop- 
erty, and  over  life  or  death.  We  are  at  a  loss  to  see  how  they 
could  be  for  ever  reserved  to  the  separate  states  after  those 
states  had  been  consolidated  into  one. 

In  the  letter  which  Madison  wrote  to  Randolph,  giving  his 
views  of  the  recpiirements  of  a  new  Constitution,  he  observes: 
"  I  think  that  a  consolidation  of  the  states  into  one  simple  re- 
public is  not  less  unattainable  than  it  would  be  inexpedient." 
])e  Tocque vi lie  observes :  "It  was  not  in  the  power  of  the 
American  Icgislatoi-s  to  reduce  to  a  single  nation  the  people  for 
whom  they  were  making  laws."  In  the  Convention  one  of  the 
ablest  members,  Luther  Martin,  observed :  "  At  the  separation 
from  the  British  empire,  the  people  of  America  preferred  to 
establish  themselvtjs  into  thirteen  separate  sovereignties  instead 
of  incorporating  themselves  into  one.  To  these  they  look  up 
for  the  safety  of  their  lives,  liborties,  and  properties.  They 
formed  the  Federal  government  to  defend  the  whole  .igalnst 
foreign  nations,  and  to  defend  the  lesser  states  against  the  ambi- 
tion of  the  larger  ones."  Here  it  appears  in  clear  terms  that 
one  of  tlie  objects  of  the  system  was  to  prevent  that  very  con- 
snlidation  which  we  are  now  told  that  it  effected.  The  evidence 
of  Mr.  Seward  cannot  be  objected  to  by  a  Unionist.     On  the 


loG  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

20tli  of  Maroh,  1850,  he  thus  expressed  himself:  "Every  man 
in  this  country,  every  man  in  Christendom,  Avho  knows  anything 
of  the  philosophy  of  government,  knows  that  this  republic  has 
been  thus  successful  only-  by  reason  of  the  stability,  strength, 
and  greatness  of  the  Individual  states." 

It  may  appear  superfluous  to  produce  so  much  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  individuality  of  the  states  continues  distinct,  if  it 
should  be  known  to  ."  every  man  in  Christendom"  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Union  has  rested  on  the  greatness  of  the  "  indi- 
vidual" states.  But  we  shall  find  that  there  will  follow  a  most 
important  consequence.  Their  individuality  remaining  distinct, 
it  may  prove  that  their  original  sovereignty  will  also  continue 
intact  in  each  of  them. 

One  thing  is  clear,  that  on  the  day  when  each  state  ratified 
the  new  Constitution  it  was  an  independent  power.  The  thir- 
teen colonies  were  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  and  other 
countries,  each  of  them  as  separately  independent.  We  need 
not,  however,  go  further  back  than  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, which  declare  the  mutual  relation  in  which  they  coexisted 
in  the  Union.  The  question  is  thus  narrowed  to  this — if  they 
be  no  longer  separately  sovereign,  to  whom  did  their  power 
pass,  and  what  evidence  exists  that  a  change  of  such  supreme 
importance  has  ever  occurred  ? 

It  is  clearly  the  natural  conclusion  that  it  remains  where  it 
existed  before  unless  there  be  evidence  to  the  contrary ;  the 
onus  of  proof  lies  with  those  who  dispute  this.  We  seek  in 
vain  for  this  proof,  for  any  explanation  of  the  nature  of  the 
change,  or  for  any  declaration  to  whom  the  extinguished  power 
has  passed.  Mr.  Motley  expresses,  indeed,  impatience  of  the 
term  sovereign,  as  being  feudal,  and  inappropriate  on  American 
soil.  No  term  is  more  frequently  used  in  the  state  documents, 
where,  indeed,  it  appears  with  a  frequency  vmknown  in  Europe; 
and  as  we  find  it  in  the  immediate  parent  of  the  Constitution, 
it  meets  us  at  the  first  step.  From  the  general  scope  of  Mr. 
Motley's  arguments,  they  would  appear  to  convey  the  theory 
that  the  original  sovereignty  of  each  state  passed  into  the  Fed- 
eral government.  This  is  described  as  "clothed  with  imperial 
attributes,"  as  executing  laws  which  are  the  supreme  law  of  the 


»  IS    SECESSION    A    COiNSTlTUTlON AL    RIGHT?  157 

land.  It  would  be  the  natural  inferenee  from  this  tliat  the  Fed- 
eral government  has  beeom'e  the  depositary  of  the  sovereign 
power  originally  in  the  separate  states.  But  Mr.  Motley  has  not 
gone  so  far  as  to  assert  this.  We  are  led  to  the  brink,  but  there 
the  guide  disappears.  No  Arneriean  writer  could,  indeed,  make 
the  assertion,  for  it  would  direetly  contradict  all  American  juris- 
prudence and  the  fundamental  principles  of  their  political  creed, 
which  are  tliat  all  sovereignty  is  in  the  people. 

If  this  be  so  —  and  none  will  dispute  it — it  follows  that  any 
government  appointed  —  with  whatever  functions  endowed  — 
of  whatever  attributes  apparently  possessed  —  is  still  merely  an 
agent  discharging  certain  allotted  duties.  That  great  authority, 
the  "  Federalist,"  observes :  "  The  Federal  and  state  govern- 
ments are,  in  fact,  but  diiferent  agents  and  trustees  of  the  peo- 
ple, instituted  witli  different  powers,  and  designed  foi'  different 
purposes"  Austin,  in  his  work  on  Jurispiudeuce,  terms  the 
government  the  "subject-minister"  —  minister  as  the  agent  — 
subject  in  relation  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln in  his  last  address  terms  the  people  his  masters,  forgetting, 
probably,  the  strange  theory  he  had  propouniled,  that  the  states 
derived  their  powers  from  tlie  government  they  themselves  had 
framed.  We  are  so  habituated  to  associate  the  idea  of  sover- 
eignty with  the  name  of  government,  that  it  requires  an  eff'ort 
to  realize  the  full  effect  of  American  political  principles.  They, 
however,  are  those  to  be  applied;  and  nothing  can  be  more 
complete  than  the  accordance  of  all  American  authorities  on  this 
point.  One  of  the  latest,  Curtis,  in  his  admirable  work  on  the 
Constitution,  observes  :*  "  In  America  it  has  been  incontro- 
vertible since  the  Revolution  that  the  supreme,  absolute,  and 
uncontrolled  power  is  in  the  people  before  they  make  a  Consti- 
tution, and  remains  in  them  after  it  is  made." 

As  it  is  thus  clear  that  the  original  sovereignty  of  each  state 

*  An  objection  has  boeii  ni.iile  to  the  tvrm.s  of  praise  in  wliich  wt-  speak  of  Mr. 
Curtis'  work  on  the  Ooristitntioii.  Tj  show  that  tlio.ie  terms  are  inijiarlial,  it 
snlBceg  to  s,iy  that  tliis  writer  is  ii  strong  snppovter  of  tlie  Uniim.  While  dilfer- 
ins  entirely  from  tlie  conelnsions  nt  which  he  w.mM  ;issurc-ill_v  arrive  as  to  a  rij;lit 
of  a-cession  we  reatfirni  that  his  work  is  not  only  •' admirable  "  but  fiiriher  that 
no  liistoriral  work  lias  appe.'iieJ  upon  the  Onistitutioii  of  the  Unii'n  that  ran 
possibly  be  placed  in  comparison  with  it. 


158  THE    AMERICAN    UNION.  4 

could  not  pass  into  the  government,  its  mere  agent,  wholly  or  in 
part,  there  remains  but  one  theory,  that  of  the  fusion  of  the 
thirteen  powers  into  one,  into  the  Union,  so  as  thus  to  have 
formed  a  corporate  poAver.  This  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  be- 
lief in  other  countries,  and  to  be  that  now  held  in  the  Northern 
states,  though  we  shall  find  that  on  other  occasions  none  have 
more  vehemently  denied  it.  In  examining  this  proposition  we 
encounter  a  formidable  obstacle  at  the  threshold.  The  Con- 
stitution did  not  form  a  Union  —  that  was  there  before  —  it 
subsisted  all  the  time — there  was  no  break  of  continuity — there 
occurred  a  radical  reform  of  government,  but  no  organic  change. 
The  states  existed  in  union  as  a  Federal  republic  —  as  such  they 
continued.  Seeing,  then,  that  the  Union  pre-existed,  we  trace 
back  to  find  the  mutual  relation  of  the  states  in  it.  This  is 
declared  fn  the  preceding  articles ;  and  when  we  find  by  them 
that  they  existed  in  the  Union  as  independent,  sovereign  powers, 
mutually  acknowledged  as  such,  we  must  hold  that  they  so  exist, 
unless  there  be  evidence  of  abdication  in  the  terms  to  which 
they  assented  in  the  new  Federal  compact.  In  those  terms  no 
such  evidence  appears.  There  is  a  clause  reserving  to  each  state 
the  exercise  of  every  right  not  expressly  delegated.  The  posses- 
sion of  sovereignty  is  not  named  or  conferred;  and  we  shall 
shortly  find  it  to  be  wholly  incapable  of  transfer  when  inherent 
In  a  people.  Hence,  in  regard  to  the  mutual  relation  of  the 
states  in  the  Union  the  only  existing  evidence  is  that  which 
declares  the  distinct  sovereignty  of  each  of  tlie  separate  states. 

In  what  manner  is  it  possible  that  any  change  of  this  nature 
could  have  been  effected  by  the  Constitution  ?  An  agreement  is 
made  between  the  states  as  to  the  amended  powers  they  should 
allot  to  their  agent,  the  general  government,  in  order  to  ren- 
der it  more  efficient.  In  this  there  is  nothing  to  affect  their 
relations  to  each  other.  Had  it  been  an  agreement  to  form 
a  consolidated  state,  then  of  course  the  powers  would  have  been 
amalgamated  with  the  people.  We  have  seen,  on  ample  evi- 
dence, that  this  was  not  intended  and  did  not  occur ;  and  it  fol- 
lows that  as  there  was  no  fusion  of  the  communities,  there  could 
be  no  fusion  of  the  sovereignty  Inherent  in  each  one  of  them 
separately. 


IS    SECKSbJUN    A    CONSTlTUTIONAIi    RIGHT?  150 

Alluding  to  this  subject,  Curtis' expresses  hi*iiself  thus:  "Po- 
litical sovereiiinty  is  capable  of  partition,  according  to  the 
character  of  its  subjects,  so  that  powers  of  one  class  niay  be 
imparted  to  a  Federal,  and  powers  of  another  class  remain  in 
a  state  constitution,  without  destroying  the  sovereignty  of  the 
latter."  From  this  it  would  appear  to  be  the  opinion  of  this 
authority  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  state  remains.  But  that 
which  is  spoken  of  as  "capable  of  partition,"  is  not  really  sover- 
eignty, but  simply  the  exercise  of  it.  Sovereignty  is  altogether 
incapable  of  division,  but  it  may  act  through  several  agents.  A 
man  may  be  ^e  owner  of  a  house  in  fee-simple.  He  may  find  it 
to  his  advantage  that  another  person  shuU  occupy  part  of  it,  and 
he  may  engage  not  to  u.'<e  that  portion,  but  this  in  no  respect 
voids  his  ownership,  nor  dor.-;  it  prove  any  division  of  that  owner- 
ship. So,  in  this  case,  the  original  sovereignty  in  each  state,  the 
ownership  of  the  power — the  fee  is  vested  in  the  people  of  that 
state  —  it  is  there  inalienable  and  indivisible  —  but  in  place  of 
exercising  it  through  a  siugle  channel,  the  state  divides  its  action 
between  two  agents,  the  one  appointed  exclusively  by  itself,  for 
special  objects,  and  the  other  appointed  in  conjunction  with  the 
sister  states,  for  objects  common  to  them  all. 

Indeed,  if  we  consider  what  sovereignty  really  is,  it  will  bo 
plain  that  it  cannot  be  divided.  It  is  the  sum  of  the  .separate 
elements  which,  when  united,  form  absolute,  uncontrollable 
power.  The  power  of  the  t^overeign  with  us  is  limited,  that  of 
the  sovereignty  —  Queen,  Lords,  and  Commons,  is  unbounded. 
This  sovereignty  pervades  the  state,  as  life  pervades  the  body, 
incapable  of  division  within  it.  A  divided  sovensignty  would 
indeed  be  two  sovereignties  within  one  state  —  two  powers  both 
supreme  —  two  lives  in  one  body.  By  the  constitutional  prin- 
ciples of  America,  on  which  alone  this  subject  must  be  judged, 
this  sovereignty  resides  in  the  people  alone,  and  is  held  to  be 
inherent  in  them,  and  inalienable  from  them. 

Now,  if  inalienable,  it  remains  where  it  was,  where  we  know 
it  did  exist  —  in  the  people  of  each  separate  state  —  bounded  by 
the  boundaries  of  that  state,  which  define  the  individuality  of 
that  distinct  community ;  for  that  which  is  inalienable  (;annot  be 
passed  away,  nor  yet  divided,  which  would  pass  part  of  it  away. 


160  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

It  is  coextensive*  with  the  individuality  of  that  people.  And 
held  to  be  inherent,  born  in  that  people,  it  must  be  the  inheri- 
tance of  the  following  generation,  as  well  as  the  possession  of  the 
present  one.  The  people  are  continuous,  there  is  no  gap  be- 
tween one  generation  and  another,  and  that  which  is  inlierent  in 
them  must  clearly  be  continuous  also. 

So  long  as  these  tenets  are  the  constitutional  law  of  America, 
one  generation  cannot  be  born  less  sovereign  than  another;  and 
tlie  people  of  the  State  of  Georgia  clearly  continue  in  the  Union 
under  the  Constitution,  as  they  existed  in  the  Union  under  the 
"Articles  of  Confederation  " — united  with  others  for  certain  pur- 
poses, but  a  distinct,  independent,  and  sovereign  community.  In 
reality,  every  state  has  asserted  its  distinct  sovereignty  on  all 
occasions,  and  in  peremi)tor3'  terms.  The  leading  supporters  of 
the  Union  at  the  present  day  are  citizens  of  Massachusetts.  In 
1793,  that  state  was  sued  in  an  action  brought  in  the  Supreme 
court.-  The  governor  of  the  state,  Hancock,  declined  to  answer 
or  appear,  and  took  the  very  different  course  of  issuing  a  proc- 
lamation for  a  special  meeting  of  the  legislature  of  the  state. 
He  held  ^t  to  be  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  sovereign  state  to 
answer  to  a  suit,  and  the  legislature  agreed  with  him.  The 
result  was  to  enforce  the  siddition  of  a  clause,  the  eleventh  of 
the  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  expressly  debarring  the 
judicial  power  of  the  government  from  any  suit  against  one  of 
the  states.  Again,  in  1814,  Governor  Strong,  of  the  same  state, 
declared  that  "  the  Govexniment  of  the  United  States  is  founded 
on  the  state  governments,  and  must  be  supported  by  them. 
The  state  legislatures  are  the  guardians,  not  only  of  individuals, 
but  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  respective  states."  Again  Massa- 
chusetts proceeded  to  act,  as  well  as  to  assert,  and  refused  to 
comply  with  the  behests  of  the  Federal  government.  Through- 
out the  historj-^  of  the  Union  every  state,  without  exception, 
whenever  the  occasion  has  arisen — and  there  have  been  many — 
has  asserted  its  sovereignty  in  jealous  and  absolute  terms ;  and 
we  find  no  instance  where  the  assertion  has  been  denied  or  dis- 
puted by  the  Federal  government.  There  is  a  remarkable  case 
at  the  present  day  in  the  conduct  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  in 
declaring  its  neutrality  while  the  government  was  at  war. 


IS    SKCKSSION    A    CONSTITUTlONAr,    UKiHT?  I')l 

By  virtue  of  this  sovereignty,  the  states  when  so  disposed,  call 
a  convention  which  has  the  power  to  pass  an  ordinance,  or  to 
repeal  a  former  one  passed  by  a  predecessor.  Tlie  repealing  or- 
dinance of  the  State  of  Georgia  runs  thus:  "An  ordinance  to 
dissolve  tlie  union  between  tlie  State  of  (xcorgia  and  other  states 
united  with  her,  under  the  compact  of  government  entitled  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

"We,  the  people  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  convention  assem- 
bled, do  declare  and  ordain,  and  it  is  hereby  declared  and  or- 
dained, that  the  ordinances  adopted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  in -convention,  in  1788,  whereby  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  assented  to,  ratified,  and  adopted,  and  also  all 
acts,  and  parts  of  acts  of  the  general  assembly,  ratifying  and 
adopting  amendments  to  the  said  Constitution,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed, rescinded,  and  abrogated. 

"And  we  do  further  declare,  and  ordain,  that  the  union  now 
subsisting  between  tiie  State  of  Georgia  and  other  states,  under 
the  name  of  the  United  States,  is  hereby  dissolved,  and  that  the 
State  of  Georgia  is  in  full  possession  and  exercise  of  all  tliose 
rights  of  sovereignty  Avhich  belong  and  appertain  to  a  free  and 
independent  state." 

Here  we  have  the  passing  of  the  law  and  its  rc])eal,  both  with 
the  same  solemnity  and  by  the  same  body.  Tlie  power  is  inher- 
ent in  every  legislature  to  repeal  a  former  act,  and  in  every 
convention  to  repeal  a  former  ordinance.  Parliament  cannot 
pass  an  act  which  a  future  parliament  may  not  repeal.  A  con- 
vention is  the  direct  organ  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  the 
instrument  through  which  it  manifests  its  absolute  power. 
Called  for  tiie  purpose  of  organic  change,  its  functions  are  not 
limited  like  those  of  a  legislature  within  the  terms  of  a  consti- 
tution ;  on  the  contrary  its  jiowers  have  no  limit.  It  is  there  to 
make  or  unmake  constitutions.  It  is  a  clear  act  of  sovereignty 
to  summon  a  convention  altogether  beyond  the  scojie  of  a  prov- 
ince. The  right  of  each  state- to  do  so  has  been  constantly 
exercised  and  never  disputed,  and  no  convention  <-an  be  called 
which  has  not  witliin  itself  the  inherent  power  to  repeal  an  ordi- 
nance passed  by  a  previous  convention  of  that  state. 

As  e£ich  of  the  original  states  acceded  to  the  Constitution  by 
11 


102  TUK    AMERICAN     UNION. 

an  act  of  convention,  and  as  this  forms  the  only  bond  of  union, 
it  follows  that  each  of  those  states,  as  a  sovereign  community, 
has,  according  to  the  constitutional  principles  of  America,  the 
inherent  right  to  repeal  that  act,  and  sever  the  bond,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  secede  front  the  Union.  An  effort  is  made  to 
meet  this,  by  confusing  the  joint  action  of  the  states  in  general 
Convention  with  the  separate  act  of  each  state,  which  alone 
formed  the  Union.  It  is  said  that  as  the  states  acted  conjointly, 
no  one  of  them  can  withdraw  without  the  assent  of  the  rest.  It 
is  true  that  twelve  of  the  thirteen  states  acted  conjointly — in 
framing  the  instrument;  whereupon  their  joint  action  ceased, 
the  instrument  itself  having  no  particle  of  force.  Subsequently 
each  state  separately  passed  an  ordinance  which  accepted  that 
instrument,  and  attached  such  state  to  the  Union.  Hence  the 
repeal  of  that  ordinance  is  not  the  repeal  of  any  conjoint^ction 
whatever,  but  of  the  single  separate  act  of  that  state.  No 
assent  of  others  was  sought  or  given  in  the  passing  of  that  ordi- 
nance, and  no  assent  of  others  is  required  to  enable  a  succeeding 
convention  to  repeal.it.* 

Nor  is  this  the  only  source  from  which  the  right  of  secession 
is  derived.  It  arises  under  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  which 
reserves  to  each  state  every  right  not  expressly  conferred.  This 
at  once  raises  the  question  what  are  those  rights,  and  what  the 
powers  reserved  to  a  state;  and  to  learn  this,  it  is  imperative  to 
refer  to  the  special  constitution  of  that  state.  Of  these  there 
are  now  thirty-four,  differing  in  some  of  their  provisions,  but 
kindred  in  spirit.  Few  of  them  have  ever  passed  a  quarter  of  a 
century  without  alteration ;  they  have  invariably  been  altered 
for  the  worse,  by  removing  them  further  from  the  Federal 
standard.    In  the  constitution  of  Maine  it  is  stated :  "All  power 


*  We  are  indebted  to  a  writer  in  thij  ■■  Quarterly  Review."  Jan\iary,  1862  for  an 
argument  to  show  tliat  the  right  of  recession  is  in  no  respect  inconsistent  with 
the  Constitution.  It  is  remarked  that  if  achuise  were  added  e.xpressly  permitting 
it,  tlie  whole  of  the  existing  clauses  would  stand  good  as  they  are.  The  effect 
would  be  that  so  long  as  a  state  continued  a  member  of  the  Union  it  would  obey 
its  terms,  but  at  once  upon  retiring  under  such  ;)ernilssive  clause  every  obligation 
would  cease.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  it  woukl  have  been  as  unwise  to  insert 
such  a  clause  and  so  provoke  its  exercise  on  the  fust  diflereuce,  as  it  was  impos- 
sible to  insert  a  clause  to  the  opposite  eifect,  for  the  reasons  fully  assigned. 


IS    SECKSSION    A    CONiSTlTl  TIONAI.    HKUIT?  1  (>:) 

is  inherent  in  the  people ;  .all  governmoiits  are  founded  in  their 
anthoritv  and  instituted  for  their  benefit ;  they  have  therefore 
an  inalienable  right  to  alter,  reform,  or  totally  ehange  the  same, 
Avhcn  their  safety  and  happiness  require  it."  That  of  Tennessee 
affirms  that,  "  Government  being  instituted  for  the  common 
benefit,  the  doetrine  of  non-resistance  against  arbitrary  power 
and  oppression  is  absurd,  slavish,  and  destruetive  to  the  good 
and  happiness  of  mankind."  That  of  Oregon,  one  of  the  most 
recent,  declares  that,  "All  power  is  inherent  in  the  people;  and 
they  have  at  all  times  a  right  to  alter,  reform,  or  abolish  the 
government  in  such  manner  as  they  may  think  proper."  That 
of  Mississippi  asserts  that  the  people  *'  have  at  all  times  an 
inalienable  and  indefeasible  right  to  alter  or  abolish  their  form 
of  government,  in  such  manner  as  they  may  think  expedient." 
These  sentiments,  slightly  varied  in  expression,  are  common  to 
the  whole  of  the  state  constitutions,  and  are  disputed  by  none. 

There  is  another  great  constitutionaP  authority,  the  fountain 
head  of  Ameri(;an  politics — the  Declaration  of  Independence — 
of  which  the  first  clause  bears  directly  on  this  question:  "We 
hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created 
equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain 
inalienable  rights-;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness;  that  to  secure  these  rights,  governments 
are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the 
Qonsent  of  the  governed ;  that  whenever  any  form  of  govern- 
ment becomes  destructive  to  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  abolish  it." 

These  are  the  constitutional  principles  for  the  guidance  of 
every  citizen.  When  the  people  of  Georgia,  lefl  in  doubt  by 
the  silence  of  the  Federal  compact  on  the  subject  of  secession, 
refer  to  these  to  enlighten  them,  to  what  conclusion  must  they 
come  —  what  hesitation  can  they  feel  V  Tliev  are  told  that  the 
"pursuit  of  happiness"  is  "an  inalienable  right  of  man;"  they 
feel  that  the  government  over  them  has  become  "destructive  of 
this  end  ;"  they  read  that  thereupon  "  it  is  the  right  of  the  people 
to  alter  or  abolish  it."  It  will,  indeed,  be  said  that  the  people 
referred  to  are  the  whole  people  of  the  whole  country,  but  this 
is  not  the  fact;   the  constitutions  quoted  from  speak  each  of 


104  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

them  for  no  other  than  the  people  of  its  own  state.  That,  in- 
deed, may  promote  the  happiness  of  Georgia  which  produces 
woe  in  California,  at  a  distance  of  three  thousand  five  hundred 
miles.  By  what  arithmetic  can  the  balance  of  happiness  be 
adjusted  between  them  ?  Further,  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence did  not  speak  for  all  the  people  under  the  rule,  it  de- 
nounced, but  for  a  small  portion  of  them  only ;  nor  did  it  speak 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  a  single  people,  but  as 
separate  colonies  now  claiming  to  be  independent,  the  respective 
original  states.  Clearly,  then,  this  language  is  adopted  by  the 
people  of  each  separate  colony  now  a  state,  having  a  form  of 
government  over  it  of  which  it  is  to  judge,  and  which,  v/henever 
so  disposed,  it  may  abolish. 

Again,  governments  are  unjust  unless  their  powers  are  based 
on  the  "  consent  of  the  governed."  Here  the  same  question 
arises,  who  are  the  governed  who  are  to  consent?  Are  the 
people  of  the  state  of  Georgia  to  refrain  from  dissenting  until 
they  agree  with  the  people  of  Oregon,  more  remote  than  Eng- 
land from  Arabia?  But  this  principle  also  was  enunciated,  like 
the  last,  for  the  guidance  of  each  separate,  distinct  community. 
Upon  these  principles  we  can  arrive  at  no  other  conclusions  than 
these  —  that  according  to  the  Constitutional  doctrines  of  Amer^ 
ica,  whenever  a  state  decides  by  the  vote  of  a  majority  of  its 
people  that  the  government  over  it  has  become  destructive  to 
the  ends  of  its  welfare  and  happiness,  and  no  longer  exists  in  its 
consent,  such  state  has  a  right  to  .abolish  that  government,  so  far 
as  it  concerns  itself,  or,  in  other  words,  has  a  right  to  secede 
from  the  Union. 

If  this  be  so,  the  Union  has  never  been  a  system  of  govern- 
ment, stable-  and  jjermanent  in  its  nature,  but  has  always  been 
exposed  to  be  overthrown,  whenever  circumstances  called  into 
action,  with  sufficient  force,  the  principles  inherent  in  it.  In 
weighing  its  value  with  a  view  to  its  restoration,  this  becomes  of 
the  first  importance.  The  people  of  the  United  States  are  no 
longer  infant  communities.  A  single  state  is  now  far  more 
populous  and  powerful  than  were  together  the  thirteen  for  which 
the  Constitution  was  framed.  Would  it  not  be  wise  to  adopt  an 
entirely  new  system  —  in  harmony,  not  with  the  past,  but  the 


IS    SECESSION    A    COXSTITUTION  A  L    RIGHT?  TtO 

present  —  not  with  the  ehildhood  of  the  people,  but  the  vI<xoroU3 
manhood  of  the  present  day  ?  No  one  will  deny  the  value  of 
experience  either  to  men  or  nations.  Of  what  value  can  it  be, 
unless  it  produce  fruit  in  decision  or  in  action  ?  The  United 
States  have  now  had  eighty  years  of  experience ;  and  in  view 
of  the  dangers  they  Iiave  encountered,  of  the  disastrous  events 
occurring  now,  ^nd  of  the  altered  condition  of  all  the  facts,  to 
return,  of  their  own  act,  to  the  old  starting  point,  would  be  no 
decision  of  mature  wisdom  and  experience ;  but  woald  rather 
resemble  that  return  to  second  childhood  which  w6  sometimes 
behold  with  j-egret  as  the  result  of  fourscore  years. 

If,  however,  a  Union  must  still  exist,  it  would  appear  an  un- 
wise, although  it  might  be  a  convenient  course,  to  slur  over  and 
evade  this  doctrine  of  secession.  There  are  two  ways  in  which 
to  deal  with  it.  One,  to  form  what  has  never  hitherto  existed — 
a  consoli<iatcd  state.  This  it  may  be  in  the  power  either  of  the 
North  or  the  South  to  do  .separately  ;  conjoined,  it  would  be  idle 
to  attempt  it.  Wlienevcr  it  can  be  accomplished  the  doctrine  of 
secession  dies  at  once. 

If,  ho\sever,  it  be  impracticable  to  form  consolidated  states, 
and  a  Union  or  Confederation  must  still  continue,  then  whatever 
its  boundaries,  there  will  exist  wiAin  them  this  principle,  inher- 
ent in  the  Fe<leral  system.  It  would  appear  the  true  policy  of 
such  a  confederation  to  remove  all  doubt,  and  carry  out  clearly 
the  principles  of  its  origin,  by  openly  declaring  the  right  of 
secession.*  Had  this  been  done  from  the  first,  there  would 
probably  have  been  no  secession  this  day.  The  surest  way  to 
end  the  desire  for  any  object  is  to  give  unlimited  command  of  it. 
Secession  has  mainly  occurred  because  it  was  denied.  How 
beneficial  the  conse(juence  had  it  been  an  admitted  right  for  the 
last  forty  years  !  In  place  of  the  despotic  use  of  political  power 
in  contempt  of  the  feelings  or  interes:s  of  other  portions  of  the 
country,  whether  at  the  hands  of  slave-owners  or  monopolists — 
there  would  have  been  all  along  a  tempering,  moderating  infiu- 


*0a  referring  to  the  Qonstitutiuu  of  the  S<)Uther;i  states  now  given,  tliwe  will 
bo  fijuii  1  in  llie  |>i-uiin!ilc  the  wjrJ.^:  ••  Kul-U  stato  acting  in  its  siivureign  auJ  iii- 
dij;(uii  liiut  ch  iricter.''— an  obvious  a  Inii^si  >n,of  the  right  of  sece^ssion.  altliongli 
tli.4t  riglit  is  nut  ex;jreisly  Je.;la.-ed,  f  >r  tlie  re:iMon  given  in  the  lust  n  ite. 


*1GG 


TUE    AMERICAN    UNlOxN. 


eVice.  Abolitionism  in  all  its  extremes  of  virulence  has  been 
permitted  by  the  North  because  the  South  was  considered  to  be 
fast.  It  might  writhe  but  must  endure  it.  But  for  this  unfor- 
tunate belief,  the  intelligence  of  the  North  wduld  have  said,  "  If 
to  gratify  your  passionate  opinions,  you  indulge  in  such  language 
as  this,  addressed  to  your  fellow-citizens,  they  will  separate  from 
us ;  we  will  not  have  the  Union  destroyed  at  your  bidding  and 
pleasure."  In  like  manner,  when  the  manufacturers  desired  to 
increase  ample  protection  to  outrageous  monopoly,  that  intelli- 
gence of  the  North  would  have  said  to  them,  "  Our  sister  states 
shall  not  be  driven  from  this  Union'in  order  to  increase  your 
profits."  The  same  rule  will  apply  to  -external  affairs.  Texas 
would  not  have  been  annexed  and  be-slaved,  no  Mexican 
spoliations — no  war  of  1813  —  no  Ostend  manifestoes  need 
have  defaced  the  history  of  the  country.  Throughout  the  range 
of  political  alFairs  there  would  have  been  present  that  influence 
— so  constantly  absent — consideration  for  others.  The  sover- 
eignty of  the  people  is  a  despotism  untempered  by  division  or 
check.  The  denial  of  secession  has  invited  it  to  act  despotically 
—  to  do  simply  as  it  listed,  regardless  of  those  supposQ^  to  have 
no  escape  from  endurance.  The  more  the  subject  is  examined, 
the  more  plainly  it  will  appear  that  under  an  admitted  right  of 
secession  there  would  never  have  grown  up  to  dangerous  magni- 
tude those  causes  which  now  produce  —  and  that  in  so  terrible  a 
form — the  disruption  of  the  Union.  Without  thos^e  causes,  had 
the  feelings  and  interests  of  others  been  fairly  and  temperately 
considered,  the  Union  might  have  existed  as  firmly  this  day  as 
at  any  former  period  of  its  history. 

Thus  we  arrive  at  the  same  conclusion  as  the  authorities  first 
quoted — that  secession  is  a  just  and  clear  constitutional  right  of 
the  states,  and  no  violation  of  any  enactment  of  the  Federal 
compact.  Adn'iitting,  therefore,  that  the  people  of  the  South 
had  a  perfect  right  to  exercise  this  power,  it  remains  to  consider 
whether  th6  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed  enabled 
them  to  act  upon  it  with  prudence. 


C  H  A  I'  T  K  U       V  T  r  . 

THE  STRUGGLE  TO  MAINTAIN  THE  UNION. 

"Whatever  be  the  conclusion  formed  by  the  reader  of  the  pre- 
cedinjj  chapter,  whether  in  accordance  with  our  own,  that 
secession  is  a  clear  right  based  on  the  constitutional  principles  of 
the  United  States,  or  that  the  present  movement  must  be  re- 
ganled  simply  as  a  rfvolution,  in  either  case  a  rocpiiremcnt 
existed  of  the  fii-st  importance  —  that  power  to  maintain  inde- 
pendence, witliout  which  its  declaration  miglit  be  futile.  It  is 
true  that  the  leaders  of  the  movement  had  little  cause  to  antici- 
pate civil  war  as  a  result.  When  carrying  out  the  doctrines  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  teaching  of  the  New 
England  states,  they  could  not  exj)cct  that  an  act  so  thoroughly 
in  accordance  with  principles  the  triumph  of  which  was  the  glory 
of  American  history  and  the  inexhaustible  theme  of  her  ora- 
tory— would  bring  down  such  a  consequence.  To  the  people  of 
the  South,  acquainted  with  the  enormous  extent  of  the  country 
and  its  well  proved  obstacles  to  invasion,  nothing  could  appear 
more  incredible  than  a  serious  attempt  to  invade  and  subdue 
them. 

Their  leaders  are  also  well  read  in  the  history  of  the  early 
days  of  the  Constitution,  a  subject  which  the  Northern  people 
prefer  to  ignoi-e,  and  they  could  not  anticipate  that  recourse 
would  be  had  to  "coercion,"  which  Hamilton,  the  idol  of  the 
Northern  Unionists,  had  stigmatized  as  "madness."  They  knew 
that  one  of  the  chief  objects  for  which  the  Constitution  was 
framed  was  to  avert  the  impending  danger  of  civil  war;  pos- 
sessetl  of  this  knowledge,  they  couhl  hardly  anticipate  that  civil 
war  would  be  invoked  to  maintain  it.  Indeed,  on  turning  to 
peruse  it  they  would  find  announced  as  one  of  its  objects  "  to 
insure  domestic  tran(iuillity."     Strange  indeed  it  were  to  expect 


1(JS  TllK    AMKRICAN     UNION. 

that  such  an  object  would  be  sought  with  fire  and  sword.  They 
knew  also  thab  no  military  force  existed  at  the  command  of  the 
government  with  which  such  an  undertaking  could  be  at- 
tempted. Not  easily  would  any  mind  be  brought  to  believe 
that  the  sister  states  would  A'olunteer  on  such  a  service,  least  of 
all  of  them  the  people  of  the  metropolis,  New  York  —  a  city 
grown  great  upon  their  trade,  and  long  united  in  bonds  of  the 
warmest  alliance.  It  was  the  member  for  that  state  who,  as  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  republic,  had  discarded  with  repugnance 
the  idea  that  any  state  would  ever  be  sunk  so  low  as  to  be  em- 
ployed in  coercing  a  sister  state. 

But  although  the  people  of  the  South,  thoroughly  convinced  of 
their  constitutional  right  to  secede,  had  also  these  reasons  to  ex- 
pect that  the  separation  might  be  peacefully  effected — still  more 
than  this  was  required.  No  assertion  of  independence  can  be  a 
reasonable  act  unless  those  who  announce  it  are  prepared  to 
maiatain  it  by  surer  means  than  reliance  on  the  calm  judgment 
or  fraternal  feeling  of  others.  The  measure  has  some  of  the 
features  of  a  challenge,  which  none  should  offer  unless  prepared 
for  any  consequence.  It  was  the  plain  duty  of  the  leaders, 
whatever  the  belief  or  the  incitements  to  action,  still  in  spite  of 
them  to  abstain  from  so  dangerous  a  movement,  unless  well 
assured  that  their  resources  would  sufhce  to  insure  that  which 
the  world  requ,Ires  to  justify  movements  of  this  nature — success. 

It  may  appear  beyond  the  scope  of  an  inquiry  directed  to  the 
Amei'ican  Union  to  examine  the  relative  resources  of  the  two 
sections.  Were  it  wholly  of  an  abstract  nature  this  would  be 
the  case;  connected  as  it  is  with  the  question  of  the  mainten- 
ance or  restoration  of  that  Union,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  em- 
brace the  subject  as  a  whole,  that  this  investigation  should  not 
be  omitted.  Indeed,  after  the  first  question  whether  the  Union 
is'  really  itself  a  good  or  an  evil,  the  inquiry  naturally  follows 
whetlier  it  can  be  maintained. 

There  exists  a  popular  Impression  that  the  great  superiority  of 
the  North  in  numbers  gives  to  it  an  overwhelming  prepon- 
derance of  strength.  Tills  seems  to  have  worked  so  strongly  on 
the  minds  of  some  as  to  preclude  all  doubt  concerning  the  issue 
of  the  contest.     Mr.  Cassius  M.  Clay  raises  the  ((uestlon,  "  Can 


THE    STRUCi(5LE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         169 

we  subdue  the  South?"  and  replies  to  it  at  once  —  "Of  course 
we  can."  AVhen  Napoleon  invaded  Russia  at  the  head  of  half  a 
million  of  men,  he  was  probably  not  less  confident.  The  ground 
for  this  reliance  of  the  Nortliern  states  is  superiority  in  popula- 
tion. But  in  India  we  hold  180,000,000  under  our  rule,  with  a 
force  of  80,000  men  ;  and  though  in  that  case  superiority  of  race 
is  the  real  power,  the  simple  fact  seems  to  afford  reason  for  dis- 
trusting the  mere  evidence  of  numbers.  Modern  history  is  re- 
plete with  instances  where  no  appreciable  superiority  of  race  has 
existed,  and  yet  where  victory  has  remained  with  the  smaller 
number.  Frederick  the  Great  could  never  have  maintained 
himself  against  the  three  great  empires  that  surrounded  him  had 
success  depended  upon  numbers.  Portugal  would  not  be  inde- 
pendent of  Spain,  nor  Switzerland  of  Austria,  nor  Greece  of 
Turkey,  by  that  rule;  the  history  of  our  own  wars  gives  it  a  very 
em])hatic  contradiction. 

If,  indeed,  it  were  possible  that  tlie  belligerents  could  enlist  to 
the  full  capacity  of  the  respective  populations,  and  these  force.s 
were  likely  to  meet  on  an  equidistant  plain  —  then  this  mode  of 
calculation  would  hold  good.  Or  if  one  country  could  invade 
another  as  a  people,  each  man  accounting  for  a  foe,  in  that  case 
the  more  numerous  would  remain  with  a  balance  triumphant  on 
the  field.  But  in  modern  warfare  nothing  of  the  kind  occurs. 
The  invading  force  is  not  a  people,  but  an  army.  That  army  in 
its  progress  must  encounter  obstacles  fatal  to,  far  greater  num- 
bers than  fall  by  the  sword.  The  question  is  not  really  what 
numbers  there  will  be  to  resist  the  invasion,  but  what  the  sum  of 
the  obstacles  the  invader  must  overcome  to  attain  his  object.  So 
delusive  is  any  estimate  based  on  numbers,  when  applieil  to  a 
war  of  this  character,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  supc- 
rior'population  of  the  North  be  not  really  a  source  of  weakness 
instead  of  strength. 

In  ordinary  warfare  the  combat  is  a  duel  between  the  two 
armies,  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  behold  as  specta- 
tors; if  both  armies  be  inellicient,  they  fight  on  equal  terms. 
But  here  the  invading  force  has  two  enemies,  the  opposing  armj' 
and  the  people.  Tliere  is  the  foe  in  front,  others  are  on  the 
flanks,  there  are  more  in  the  rear.  The  elficiency  of  an  army  so 
13 


170  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

placed  is  exposed  to  the  severest  test;  for  every  march  is  in  the 
nature  of  a  flank  march,  and  every  important  movement  is  a 
change  of  front  in  presence  of  the  enemy.  And  when  the  coun- 
try to  be  invaded  is  ill  supplied  with  roads  or  forage,  without 
stores  that  may  be  seized,  and  of  enormous  extent,  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  transport  and  commissariat  services  become  so  intense 
that  an  invading  army  when  fairly  advanced  into  the  country 
and  fidly  exposed  to  these  influences,  must  find  itself  eniployed 
in  the  pursuit  of  its  own  destruction,  unless  thoroughly  efficient. 

Hence  the  question  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  number  of 
recruits  the-population  of  the  North  could  supply,  but  is  rather 
the  extent  of  the  really  efficient  force  it  can  bring  into  the  field. 
To  deserve  that  character  an  army  requires  officers,  cavalry, 
guns,  and  munitions  of  war  in  due  proportion.  The  scale  on 
which  these  existed  in  the  United  States  was  that  of  16,000 
men.  Upon  such  a  nucleus  to  build  up  within  a  year  an 
efficient  army  of  100,000  men  would  be  a  remarkable  achieve- 
ment. The  great  armies  of  Europe  have  been  the  growth  not 
of  months  but  of  centuries.  There  is  no  American  art  of  war 
different  from  our  own  ;  the  same  rules  apply,  and  if  it  be  con- 
sidered what  difficulty  we  experienced  in  the  Crimean  war  in 
placing  50,000  men  suddenly  in  the  field,  notwithstanding  our 
greater  population,  resources,  and  experience,  it  will  be  seen 
that  a  strenuous  effort  will  be  required  to  convert  within  a  few 
months  a  force  of  16,000,  disorganized  by  the  loss  of  its  best  offi- 
cers, into  an  efficient  army  of  100,000  men. 

Apart  from  those  local  forces  that  cannot  decisively  influence 
the  result,  this  would  appear  to  be  the  maximum  number  the 
principal  army  will  reach.  If  so,  a  population  of  10,000,000  will 
readily  supply  recruits  for  that  number.  The  truth  is  the  North 
possesses  a  numerical  power  beyond  its  military  strength, 'and 
this  excess  is  mere  superfluity.  An  army  is  a  complex  machine, 
in  which  the  efficiency  of  the  whole  depends  on  the  efficiency  of 
each  separate  part ;  like  a  watch  that  is  valueless  unless  every 
wheel  and  pinion  be  in  order.  With  one  set  of  movements,  one 
watch  can  be  made- — with  fifty  sets,  fifty;  but  if  there  be  fifty 
sets  of  wheels  and  pinions  and  only  two  springs,  there  cannot  be 
made  fifty  watches,  but  only  two.     So  in  the  North  the  supply 


THE    STRUGGLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         171 

of  one  element  of  strength  is  disproportionate  to  the  rest.  For 
the  immediate  purpose  of  aggressive  warfare  that  superabun- 
dance lias  no  value. 

But  an  important  oonsoqucnee  results  from  it.  We  have  seen 
that  the  national  standard  of  value  in  all  things  is  now  magni- 
tude. The  people  of  the  North  will  take  as  their  guide  not  the 
army  list  but  the  census,  and  aim  at  a  force  proportionate  not  to 
military  strength,  but  to  the  number  of  heads.  The  government, 
swept  along  by  the  popular  current,  must  needs  adopt  this  prin- 
ciple. The  result  must  be  an  enormously  expensive  and  ineffi- 
cient force  ;  in  other  words,  a  union  of  two  elements,  inefficiency 
and  cost,  either  of  them  fatal  to  success  The  present  rate  of 
expenditure  in  the  North  is  an  enemy  more  dangerous  than  any 
foe  in  the  field.  It  will  decide  the  contest  before  it  might  other- 
wise terminate ;  and  the  more  closely  we  look  into  the  subject 
the  greater  the  doubt  will  become,  whether  the  very  excess  of 
the  North  in  numbers  will  not  really  prove  a  source  of  disaster. 

In  forming  a  judgment  of  the  results  to  be  expected,  it  will 
be  essential  to  keep  in  view  the  different  degree  of  efficiency 
required  in  an  army  called  upon  to  invade  a  country  from  that 
which  will  suffice  to  defend  it.  This  was  strikingly  exemplified 
in  the  Avar  of  1814.  The  whole  of  the  aggressive  operations  of 
the  American  forces  resulted  in  disastrous  failure,  yet  they  de- 
fended Baltimore  and  New  Orleans  with  complete  success.  It 
appears  the  popular  impression  in  the  North  that  because  any 
man  can  discharge  a  gun  over  a  wall,  therefore  he  can  be  a  sol- 
dier. But  the  invader  must  march  right  up  to  that  wall  and 
climb  it  under  the  fire  of  i^  defenders,  and  this  requires  a  very 
special  training.  In  that  war  of  1814,  undiscipHucd  men  were 
well  able  to  stand  behind  bales  of  cotton  and  shoot  down  those 
advancing  in  the  open  field;  but  at  Bladensburg  an  army  of  the 
same  materials,  with  the  President  at  its  head,  was  defeated  by 
a  force  but  a  third  of  its  numbers,  not  from  any  want  of  indi- 
vidual courage,  but  because  untrained  in  the  degree  required 
for  engagements  in  the  open  field.  Those  who  wish  to  form  a 
correct  judgment  of  the  elements  in  this  question,  will  do  well 
to  consider  that  the  advantage  of  the  defenders  of  New  Orleans 


172  TIIIC    AMERICAN    UNION. 

is  with  the  South,  while  the  nndcrt;iking  of  the  North  is  to  fight" 
a  scries  of  battles  under  the  conditions  of  that  of  Bladensburg. 

Financial  power  preponderates  greatly  in  favor  of  the  North, 
but  here  the  inquiry  frequently  seems  to  take  a  wrong  direction. 
The  true  question  is  not  which  may  be  richer  or  command  the 
greater  credit,  but  simply  whether  the  South  possess  financial 
means  that  will  sufii'ce  for  effective  defence.  This  none  can 
doubt  —  for  whether  as  regards  the  luxuriance  of  its  crops,  the 
lucrative  commerce  it  has  enjoyed  for  many  years,  or  the  re- 
sources contained  within  the  country,  few  are  to  be  found 
possessing  more  largely  the  elements  of  wealth.  If  this  were 
not  so,  history  affords  ample  evidence  that  the  absence  of  wealth 
has  proved  no  barrier  to  the  defence  of  an  invaded  country. 
The  very  scene  of  the  conflict  has  already  illustrated  this,  for 
seldom  did  greater  poverty  exist  either  in  resources  or  credit 
than  in  these  states  when  they  successfully  defended  themselves 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  All  but  incredible  is  the  extremity 
that  accompanied  the  whole  of  that  contest,  when  not  only  had . 
coin  disappeared,  but  the  notes  issued  by  Congress  had  fallen  in 
value  to  as  low  a  point  as  the  eightieth'  part  of  their  nominal 
amount — nay,  at-  times  were  so  valueless  that  Washington  was 
occasionally  obliged  to  resort  to  forced  requisitions  to  feed  his 
troops.  In  spite  of  all  this  the  war  continued  and  ended  in  suc- 
cessful defence.  Wealth  or  credit  is  indeed  essential  to  the 
power  that  equips  great  forces  for  expeditions  and  aggressive 
war;  but  that  neither  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  defence  of 
a  country,  there  can  be  no  clearer  proof  tlian  these  states  have 
already  afforded. 

The  effects  of  the  war  will  tell  financially  with  far  greater 
severity  upon  the  Northern  than  the  Southern  power.  This 
will  be  obvious  on  comparing  their  industrial  condition.  In  the 
'South  are  two  classes,  the  poor  white  whose  circumstances 
nothing  can  alter  for  the  worse,  and  the  planter  with  whom  the 
ruling  power  resides.  Were  it  essential  to  him  tx)  sell  his  crop 
of  cotton  or  tobacco  in  order  to  pay  wages  or  provide  food  for 
his  people,  the  effect  of  the  blockade  might  be  decisive.  But 
all  the  necessaries  of  life  may  be  obtained  on  his  estate.  The 
majority  sell  their  cotton  to  reimburse  advances  previously  made 


THE    STUUCflLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         173 

to  tlicni.  If  unable  to  sell  it  they  cannot  repay  these  advances, 
which  must  simply  be  post|)oned,  and  there  is  nothing  in  this  to 
prevent  the  eontinuanee  of  tlie  contest  for  an  indefinite  period. 
Any  country  can  exist  and  sustain  a  defensive  war  without  ttxport 
trade  if  possessed  of  a  fertile  soil.  We  blockaded  France  for 
well  nigh  twenty  years,  and  at  one  time  reduced  her  to  the 
greatest  straits  for  saltpetre,  which  her  science  invented  a  method 
of  producing  artificially.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  that  blockade  she 
achieved  her  greatest  triumphs.  Undoubtedly  suffering  will  re- 
sult to  individuals  in  the  South,  but  speaking  generally  the 
utmost  effect  it  can  produce  will  be  a  general  suspension  of  cer- 
tain classes  of  payments,  in  other  words,  a  system  of  promissory 
notes,  which  so  far  from  precluding  the  operations  of  war,  has 
been  its  usual  accompaniment  in  most  countries. 

In  the  North  tiie  small  farmers  compose  a  large  class  of  the 
population,  covering  tlie  face  of  the  land.  With  them  the  usual 
routine  of  daily  life  will  continue  with  little  change.  But  there 
are  great  cities  densely  crowded.  Tiiese  masses,  unlike  the  poor 
white  of  the  South,  have  no  land  on  which  to  grow  their  food, 
nor<can  they  await  its  growth.  The  blockade  will  not  starve  a 
negro,  but  it  may  stop  tiie  mills  of  Lowell,  upon  which  a  white 
population  will  be  innnediately  reduced  to  want.  The  suffer- 
ings of  war  are  felt  in  the  ratio  in  which  lai-ge  cities  exist  that 
contain  great  ninnbers  requiring  daily  bread,  and  depending  for 
it  on  trade  or  manufactures.  A  commercial  crisis  that  will  cause 
havoc  in  Manchester  or  Birmingliam,  uiav  be  unheard  of  in* 
Hampshire;  so  the  cfT'ects  of  tiiis  war  will  tell  on  the  masses  of 
the  North  with  a  seveiity' altogether  unknown  to  the  dispersed 
agricultural  jiopulation  of  the  Southern  states. 

To  what  financial  straits  the  Southern  government  may  be 
driven  we  cannot  estimate,  in  the  entire  absence  of  information 
as  to  the  rate  of  its  expenditure ;  but  there  is  ample  information 
to  show  that  uniler  the  ex|)enditure  now  in  progress  in  the  North, 
the  war  must  indeed  be  short  that  will  not  witness  there  a  finan- 
cial collapse.  The  peace  exjienditure  of  the  United  States  tor 
the  year  ending  30th  June,  18fJ0,  was  S59,000,00(i»;  the  income 
$45,000,000,  of  which  S53,0O0,000  accrued  from  duties  on  im- 
ports.    Under  the  combined  effect  of  the  war  and  the  Morrill 


174  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

tariff,  imports  into  New  York,  from  1st  January  to  23d  August, 
1861,  had  fallen  to  $90,000,000  as  compared  with  $159,000,000 
for  the  same  period  of  the  past  year.  Assuming  the  customs 
duties  to  produce  one-half  their  former  amount  —  and  it  is  im- 
probable they  will  reach  this  —  a  deficit  exists  of  more  than 
$30,000,000  upon  the  ordinary  finances  of  the  country.  The 
whole  of  the  war  taxation  imposed  is  inadequate  to  fill  this  void. 
Hence,  the  enormous  cost  of  the  war,  and  the  interest  accruing 
on  the  debt  rapidly  created,  have  to  be  supplied  entirely  by 
borrowing. 

The  first  of  these  loans  has  been  negotiated.  No  process  is 
easier  at  the  commencement  than  running  into  debt ;  but  subse- 
quent demands  are  apt  to  be  greeted  with  less  and  less  cordiality, 
until  at  last  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  door  is  found  to  be 
entirely  closed.  The  financial  result  of  war  is  no  new  problem. 
At  this  moment  contractors  and  schemers  of  all  kinds  are  making 
enormous  fortunes — their  patriotism  is  ardent — they  term  those 
who  counsel  moderation  "  miscreants."  There  is  also  an  accu- 
mulation of  gold  in  the  banks,  confidence  is  unbounded,  the 
appi'ehensions  others  express  result  from  ignorance.  But  in  the 
autumn  of  1857,  whicli  is  but  four  years  ago,  no  war  existed,  no 
convulsion  occurred,  no  drain  of  money  had  set  in  —  yet  simply 
because  the  people  of  the  West,  having  speculated  in  lands,  had 
fallen  into  arrears  of  payment  —  a  panic  seized  upon  the  City  of 
New  York,  and  ran  throughout  the  country.  The  whole  of  the 
banks  suspended  specie  payments — the  wheels  of  commerce  came 
to  a  dead  lock  —  the  community  was  plunged  in  despair.  New 
York  is  poorer  this  day  than  at  that  period.  Her  commerce  has 
been  depressed  ever  since,  and  there  are  now  the  enormous 
losses  of  this  event. .  Will  the  present  excitement  be  followed  l?y 
no  reaction?  was  that  destined  to  be  the  last  of  panics?  If 
such  an  effect  was  produced,  so  recently,  by  a  mere  derange- 
ment of  Western  exchanges,  the  conclusion  is  irresistible  that 
under  the  agencies  now  at  work  there  will  come  again  a  day  of 
panic,  when  every  man's  face  will  turn  pale  as  before,  and  the 
whole  financial  fabric  crumble  again  into  dust. 

In  all  wars  success  has  mainly  depended  on  the  military  genius 
of  the  commander.     As  neither  side  can  as  yet  claim  to  possess 


THE    STRUGGLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         17o 

a  general  of  established  reputation,  we  are  forced  to  inquire  with 
whom  military  talent  is  most  likelj"^  to  be  developed.  General 
Scott  has  indeed  proved  himself  an  able  commander,  but  his  age 
and  pliysical  infirmities  forbid  exertion  in  the  field,  and  to  direct 
operations  from  Washington  would  be  to  repeat  errors  already 
well  exposed.  Several  of  the  pages  of  liistory  would  probably 
read  differently  if  the  Archduke  Charles  had  never  been  directed 
by  the  Aulic  Council.  Besides,  General  Scott,  although  but  three 
months  since  the  popular  idol,  is  already  cast  aside.  The  event- 
ual hero  of  the  war  is  yet  to  be  discovered ;  on  which  side  is  he 
the  more  likely  to  appear  ? 

On  this  point  expectation  must  be  guided  by  past  experience; 
and  the  fact  is  remarkable,  that  so  far  all  the  generals  of  any 
eminence  whom  the  United  States  have  produced,  have  been 
Soutlicrners.  Happily  for  the  country,  the  list  is  not  yet  a  long 
one,  and  Washington,  Jackson,  Taylor,  and  Scott,  are  the  only 
names  ti>at  occupy  a  distinguished  j-ank.  The  probabilities  of 
the  future  are  therefore  greatly  in  favor  of  the  tlpjiearaiice  of  the 
ablest  general  on  the  side  of  the  South,  and  up  to  the  present 
time  none  can  doubt  on  which  side  the  greater  military  talent 
has  been  displayed.  Closely  allied  with  this  consideration  is  that 
of  excellence  in  tlie  regimental  officers,  and  probably  m  the 
present  war  (where  great  combinations  and  elaborate  manoeuvres 
arc  not  likely  to  be  attempted)  this  may  exercise  a  decisive  in- 
fluence. In  this  respect  the  advantage  of  the  Soutli  is  admitted 
by  all.  The  natural  disposition  of  the  Northerner  leads  him  to 
commerce,  manufactures,  inventions.  Speaking  generally,  there 
is  no  class  of  landed  gentry  iu  the  Nortli.  Those  who  have 
acquired  or  who  inherit  fortunes,  instead  of  sharing  our  taste  for 
country  life,  regard  magnificent  houses  in  the  cities  and  splendid 
furniture  as  ohjects  of  ambition.  In  the  South,  on  the  contrary, 
the  large  landed  proprietors  form  a  body  of  gentry,  with  many 
tastes  and  habits  similar  to  our  own,  and  their  sons  enter  the 
army  as  naturally  as  those  of  tlie  Northerner  take  to  the  count- 
ing house. 

Mr.  Olmstead,  by  no  means  a  friendly  witness,  observes:  "It 
is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  Southerners,  compared  with  our- 
selves, are  more  ready  to  violence,  more  familiar  with  deadly 


176  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

■weapons,  and  more  acctistomod  to  resort  to  physical  means  of 
self-defence.  It  is  also  true  that  they  are  generally  less  accus- 
tomed to  luxury. -and  are  more  ready  for  camp  life  than  we  are. 
The  wealthy  young  men  have  also  been  more  accustomed  to 
command  than  the  corresponding  class  with  us."  Familiarity 
with  the  use  of,  arms,  and  the  power  of  enduring  camp  life,  are 
jio  mean  advantages  when  a  war  suddenly  occurs.  From  his 
youth  the  Southerner  is  habituated  to  command  others,  and 
where  there  is  the  habit  of  command  there  will  be  a  cori'elative 
instinct  of  military  obedience.  The  Northerner  will  obey  with 
impatience,  under  feelings  of  restraint  that  seek  escape.  His 
position  is  repugnant  to  all  his  ibrmer  theories :  impatient  of 
control  as  a  child,  impatient  of  authority  as  a  youth,  it  is  impos- 
sible he  can  be  docile  under  the  bonds  of  discipline.  The  con- 
stant idea  torments  him,  also,  that  his  officer  is  no  better  than 
himself,  and  has  no  right  to  be  so.  The  Southerner,  on  the  other 
hand,  will  accept  his  position,  whether  to  command  or  obey,  as 
the  proper  ordei*  of  things.  Of  personal  courage  there  is  abun- 
dance on  both  sides — no  braver  people  exist.  The  Northerner, 
undoubtedly,  is  naturally  as  courageous  as  the  Soutlierner ;  but 
all  qualities  are  sti'engthened  by  use  and  association,  and  the 
Southerner  is  habituated  to  an  indifference  to  danger  and  reck- 
lessness of  life  unknown  in  the  North.  Such  a  people  are  not 
easily  subdued.  Conquests  should  only  be  attempted  by  the 
more  martial  race;  but  here  the  invaders  are  decide<lly  a  less 
martial  people  than  those  to  be  subdued. 

The  late  history  of  India  strikingly  proves  how  greatly  the 
value  of  any  military  force  depends  upon  the  officers.  The 
sepoys  had  proved  their  excellence  as  soldiers  in  a  century  of 
war;  when  the  mutiny  ejected  their  officers,  they  had  abundance 
of  their  own  well  schooled  in  regimental  knowledge.  The  force 
a  ppearc  d  the  same  ;  its  evolutions  were  perfect,  it  retained  to 
the  last  an  unbroken  sense  of  discipline.  But  events  soon 
proved  it  a  mechanical  thing  out  of  which  the  spirit  had  jjassed, 
and  the  troops  that  for  a  hundred  years  had  conquered,  from 
Plassy  to  Sobraon,  were  miserably  routed  in  every  encounter. 
In  the  war  of  the  Punjaub,  the  sepoy  led  by  British  officers 
overthrew  the  Sikh.     A  few  vears  later  the  two  races  are  again 


THE    STRUOiGLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.        177 

opposed,  tlic  sepoys  under  officers  of  tlieir  own.  and  now  the 
Sikhs,  whom  tliey  had  vanquis^lied  befure,  drive  tliem  in  tciTor 
from  tlie  field. 

Tliere  is  a  direetlon,  apart  from,  yet  associated  witli  military 
aptitude,  in  which  the  advantage  is  unquestionably  with  the 
South.  Politieal  ability  will  not  decide ^the  fate  of  a  battle,  but 
•will  tell  with  decisive  . effect  on  the  result  of  a  war.  The  supe- 
riority of  the  Southerners  in  this  respect  none  will  question. 
Webster  observed  that  it  would  be  vain  to  dispute  that  the  lead 
in  the  politics  of  the  United  States  had  been  a  Southern  lead. 
We  have  seen  how  creat  a  majority  of  the  statesmen  of  the 
Union  they  have  sup]>lied.  The  Southerners,  indeed,  are  just 
as  superior  to  the  men  of  the  North  in  politieal  and  military 
talent,  as  the  Northerners  are  superior  in  mercantile  skill, 
literary  ability,  and  inventive  trenius.  There  seems  a  natural 
division  of  mental  jjowers.  in  which,  while  those  of  the  North- 
erner have  a  wider  range,  and  may  be  greater  in  the  aggregate, 
it  so  happens  that  those  allotted  to  the  Southerner  are  precisely 
sueh  as  are  effective  in  war.  Of  this  political  capacity  there  has 
been  clear  evidence  already  in  the  history  of  the  contest.  On 
the  part  of  the  South  has  been  witnessed  from  the  first  one 
direct,  able,  resolute  line  of  action.  Starting  from  the  bare 
ground,  with  a  village  for  a  capital,  they  organized  at  once  a 
complete  system  of  government — placed  their,  ablest  men  in 
oflice  —  passed  laws  adapted  to  their  position  —  instead  of  insult- 
ing other  powers,  endeavored  to  conciliate  them  —  and  in  place 
of  occupying  their  time  in  speeches,  at  once  proceeded  resolutely 
to  prepare  for  the  conflict  that  might  en.sue.  In  this  there  is 
power — stern,  manly  power — such  as  grasps  the  victory  in  war. 

There  is  another  difference  between  the  belligerents,  which, 
when  forming  an  estimate  of  probabilities,  we  cannot  overlook — 
difference  of  motive.  The  people  of  the  North  invade  the 
South  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  maintaining  the  Constitufion — 
for  the  real  purpose  of  sustaining  that  amljition  which  upholds 
itself  on  ihi-  magnitude  of  the  Union.  This  motive  affords  scope 
for  declamation  —  orators  will  handle  it  with  exciting  etfect- — 
they  are  now  denouncing  as  "  miscreants  and  traitors  "  all  who 
counsel  reason.     Bevond  (his  it  will  stron<:lv  afl'ect  the  minds  of 


178  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

many  excellent  Northern  men  who  believe  that  tlie  Union  is  a 
benefit,  and  are  oppressed  with  a  gloomy  feeling  akin  to  that  of 
the  time  of  Lord  North  —  that  with  the  loss  of  the_  Southern 
states  the  sun  of  America  s^ets  for  ever.  But  these  will  nob  be 
the  actual  combatants.  The  enthusiastic  Unionist,  the  excited  - 
Abolitionist  will  be  found  in  clubs  and  committee  rooms,  not  on 
the  field  of  battle.  Enlistment  soon  subsides  into  an  affair  of 
bounty  —  of  contracts  to  raise  men  at  so  much  per  head.  .  Con- 
scription has  already  been  muttered.  Those  whom  we  have 
described  will  be  most  of  them  the  editors,  orators,  and  contractr 
ors  of  the  North.  In  the  actual  warfare  will  be  found  Irishmen, 
Germans,  small  farmers,  mechanics  thrown  out  of  work.  There 
is  nothing  in  a  constitution  or  in  abstract  conceptions  of  union 
to  rouse  feelings  of  self-devotion  in  these  —  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  the  army.  Already  has  been  seen  a  form  of  patriotism  that 
no  other  country  has  ever  displayeji  —  regiments  walking  away 
from  the  first  field  of  battle  to  the. sound  of  the  enemy's  cannon. 

All  this  will  be  different  on  the  other  side.  The  Virginian 
will  fight  in  defence  of  his  own  soil,  as  the  Northerner  would 
fight  were  New  England  invaded.  With  him  it  will  be  no  ideal 
abstraction  —  no  theme  of  declamation  —  no  (question  of  public 
policy.  It  is  the  defence  of  his  own  land  and  his  own  home. 
This  all  can  understand  —  every  eye  can  see  it  —  it  speaks  to 
every  man  —  it  rouses  every  heart.  No  matter  to  him  about  the 
rights  or  wrongs  —  the  invader  is  on  the  soil.  These  men  can- 
not turn  away  from  the  battle  to  seek  their  home;  the  battle  is 
in  their  home. 

The  material  obstacles  which  the  South  presents  to  an  invad- 
ing force  are  matters  on  which  a  more  positive  judgment  may 
be  formed ;  they  are  those  which  apparently  must  decide  the 
result.  The  force  on  the  defensive  has  the  advantage  of  choos- 
ing the  position  on  which  to  fall  back  and  accept  an  engage- 
ment. The  invader  comes  on  the  strength  of  an  assumed 
superiority  which  he  is  bound  to  vindicate.  To  him  retreat  is 
fatal;  and  to  pause  in  the  milst  of  a  hostile  nation  would  be  as 
one  who  hesitates  on  a  sand-bank  when  the  tide  is  rising  around 
him.  He  has  to  answer  every  challenge,  and  to  overthi*ow  all 
who  bar  his  way.     It  is  true  he  may  have  the  alternative  of 


THE    STRUGGLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         179 

turning  the  positions. that  have  been  occupied;  but  even  with 
experienced  troops  this  operation  is  full  of  danger  —  with  raw 
forces  diflicult  in  the  extreme.  Besides,  in  a  country  so  vast 
and  of  such  variety,  it  will  always  be  possible  to  select  and 
occupy  positions  that  cannot  be  turned  except  under  disadvan- 
tages so  great  that  the  assailant  is  forced  to  attack  in  front  as 
the  lesser  evil.  If  it  be  considered  that  the  garrison  of  a  for- 
tress is  increased  fivefold  in  strength  by  its  position,  it  will  be 
apparent  how  great  the  advantage  of  that  choice  of  ground 
which  carries  with  it  the  power  of  entrenching  and  of  crowning 
prominent  points  with  guns  of  position.  The  Russian  army  at 
Borodino  could  not  have  withstood  that  of  France  for  an  hour 
on  even  ground,  but  the  choice  of  position  enabled  it  to  inflict 
most  disastrous  loss  on  its  assailant. 

The  danger  of  panic  to  which  raw  forces  are  exposed,  will  be 
greatly  intluenced  by  this  choice  of  position.  In  regular  armies 
the  original  courage  of  the  man  is  increased  as  a  soldier.  He 
feels  himself  surrounded  by  the  disciplined  strength  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  mentally  participates  in  the  power  of  the  whole.  In 
its  ranks  he  marches  to  an  assault  which  he  could  not  face  as  an 
individual.  With  undisciplined  troops,  on  the  contrary,  each 
man  has  a  consciousness  that  the  rest  are  no  better  than  himself. 
This  instils  into  his  mind  a  sense  of  weakness  instead  of  power, 
and  he  becomes  less  l)rave  as  a  soldier  than  he  was  as  a  man.  A 
mob  will  run  away  from  an  alarm  that  would  disturb  no  person 
in  it  if  alone.  Panic  is  in  no  degree  proof  of  cowardice  ;  it  has 
happened  to  very  brave  troops.  Some  races  are  especially 
liable  to  it;  the  more  excitable  a  people  the  greater  the  danger. 
It  exists,  too,  in  the  ratio  of  intelligence,  and  an  army  composed 
of  orators  or  professional  and  literary  men  would  be  more  ex- 
posed to  it  than  a  mass  of  Russian  serfe ;  for  as  an  emotion  of  the 
mind,  a  mental  epiilemic,  the  more  mind  there  may  be  in  any 
force,  the  greater  its  exposure  to  the  danger.  Some  proof  this 
how  detestable  a  thing  is  war,  since  the  nearer  man  approaches 
to  the  animal  the  better  he  is  fitted  for  it. 

The  results  of  panic  are  so  fatal  as  to  render  it  important  to 
consider  which  of  the  combatants  will  be  the  more  exposed  to  it. 
The  usual  causes  arc  repulse  in  attack  when  exhausted  by  pre- 


180  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

vious  exertion,  confusion  in  executing  movements  under  fire,  or 
terror  of  cavalry.  To  these  the  assailant  is  especially  liable. 
The  force  on  the  defensive  may  be  stationary,  has  few  move- 
ments to  eiFect,  and  is  partly  sheltered  by  its  position.  If  driven 
out,  perchance  in  disorder,  the  woods  are  near  for  shelter,  every 
house  being  that  of  a  friend.  On  the  other  hand,  the  assailant 
has  to  execute  movenients,  frequently  to  climb  steep  positions 
and  encounter  an  enemy  waiting  to  hurl  him  back.  Again, 
panic  springs  from  a  sense  of  insecurity,  always  neai'er  to  the 
minds  of  those  invading  a  hostile  country  than  to  its  defenders, 
who  possess  the  confidence  of  a  man  in  his  own  house.  To  the 
causes,  therefore,  of  this  fatal  danger  the  invader  is  peculiarly 
exposed,  while  to  him  the  consequences  are  also  more  disastrous. 
Th«  defenders  disperse  to  reunite  afterward,  as  we  constantly 
experienced  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  With  the  assailant,  fairly 
advanced ,  into  the  country,  the  effect  must  be  ruin  to  the 
campaign. 

There  remains  a  consideration  which,  if  all  those  examined 
were,  omitted,  appears  decisive  of  the  question.  Space  is  an 
obstacle  that  numbers  cannot  overthrow,  nor  enthusiasm  sur- 
mount, nor  skill  circumvent.  Space  was  the  true  victor  in  the 
Revolutionary  war ;  it  was  the  real  conqueror  in  the  invasion  of 
Russia.  There  the  cold  aggrarvated  the  horrors  of  the  retreat, 
an  d  the  picture  of  those  sufferings  is  engraven  so  deeply  in  the 
mind  as  to  leave  the  impression  that  frost  and  snow  were  the 
cause  of  ruin.  But  the  army  of  Napoleon  was  wrecked  before 
the  frost  appeared.  But  ninety  thousand  men  set  out  to  return 
from  Moscow  of  the  five  hundred  thousand  that  crossed  the 
frontier.  There  was  no  frost  until  long  after  every  desire  had 
passed  away  except  that  of  escape.  It  was  not  the  soldier,  nor 
genei'als,  nor  the  cold  of  Russia,  but  the  space  which  had  caused 
this.  The  distance  fro»n  Washington  to  Montgomery  is  a  little 
beyond  a  thousand  miles.  What  strength  will  be  left  in  any 
man  after  marching  a  thousand  miles,  carrying  an  oppressive 
•  load,  fed  with  indifferent  food,  sleeping  by  night  on  the  ground, 
harassed  at  intervals  with  special  exertions  and  fatigue  ?  What 
proportion  of  any  number  will  reach  the  end  of  such  a  march? 

And  a  thousand  men  are  no  more  capable  of  resisting  these  in- 


THE    STRUGGLE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         181 

fluences  than  one  man.  In  tliis  direction  numbers  have  no 
accumulative  power ;  whatever  e.xhausts  the  strength  of  one  of 
them  may  prostrate  all.  That  invasion  of  Russia  is  a  striking 
illustration  of  tlie  pi-obabilities  of  the  present  war.  Tlierc  is  no 
superiority  in  the  North  to  be  compared  with  that  which  the 
French  possessed.  Th -v  captured  towns,  they  overran  prov- 
inces, they  won  the  most  terrible  battle  on  record,  they  reached 
and  obtained  the  very  object  of  their  marcli.  But  the  length  of 
that  march,  from  Warsaw  to  Moscow,  had  ruined  them.  Russia 
was  not  an  ordinary  kingdom,  the  loss  of  wiiose  capital  is  a 
decisive  blow  ;  it  was  an  enormous  space —  a  huge  body  without 
a  heart.  The  sword  might  be  thrust  into  it  anywhere,  nowhere 
with  mortal  eflci  t.  It  was  cutting  water  with  a  knife.  So  with 
the  Soutiiern  states,  there  is  notiiing  at  which  to  strike — no  vul- 
nerable point.  An  invader  may  march  through  them  aqd  coun- 
termarch—  cross  them  and  recross  —  but  after  all  tiiis  they  will 
continue  in  a  military  sense  about  as  capable  of  continued  resist- 
ance as  before. 

Rut  the  conditions  of  the  present  conflict  may  be  illustrated 
more  closely  than  by  the  Russian  campaign.  It  is  simply  a  rep- 
etition of  our  own  experience  on  the  same  soil.  The  North 
protests  against  rebellion  —  so  did  we.  Thev  invoke  the  laws, 
the  integrity  of  the  empire  —  we  did  the  same.  We  also  pos- 
sessed an  overwiielming  naval  Jbrce  and  blockaded  the  ports. 
They  believe  that  large  numbere  in  the  South  are"  really  in  their 
hearts  favorable  to  their  cause  —  so  did  Lord  North.  They 
undertake  to  vanquish  space  —  we  made  the  same  attempt. 
Hence,  there  is  no  new  problem  to  be  solved;  the  subject  has 
been  well  explored,  the  results  are  all  known.  Moreover,  we 
undertook  an  easy  task  when  compared  with  this.  We  hail  the 
advantage  of  veteran  troops  to  0])pose  to  raw  levies.  We  had 
a  much  greater  superiority  in  population,  in  wealth,  and  credit. 
We  had  a  great  military  prestige.  We  reaJly  commanded  what 
is  now  but  hoped  for,  a  portion  of  the  people,  including  the  City 
of  New  York,  not  only  favorable  to  our  cause,  but  actually 
fighting  on  our  side.  And  our  object  was  but  to  subdue  the 
country  that  borders  the  Atlantic ;  on  the  jjresent  occasion  there 
is  an  empire  to  overrun  of  which  that  might  be  a  province. 


182  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

And  what  can  the  invaders  eifect  that  we  i'ailcd  to  accom- 
plish ?  We  defeated  the  opposing  force  in  every  battle  in  the 
open  field.  We  took  the  ji'incipal  cities,  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Charleston,  Savannah,  Richmond.  The  present  invaders 
can  hardly  do  more.  And  if  so,  why  the  failure  of  eventual 
success  ?  Simply  because  it  was  beyond  our  power  to  overcome 
this  obstacle  of  space.  Victories  were  barren  of  result,  for 
troops  that  will  disperse  intoVoods  can  just  as  readily  reassem- 
ble. The  process  becomes  one  of  endless  repetition,  cutting  off 
the  head  of  a  polypus  that  grows  at  once  a  new  one  in  another 
place.  To  take  prisoners  was  to  be  encumbered  with  so  many 
units  of  a  multitude ;  to  carry  a  position  was  only  a  step  in  the 
journey  toward  another.  And  if  there  be  those  who  demur  to 
the  facts,  and  recall  Saratoga  and  Yorktown,  it  will  be  found 
on  examination  that  both  those  cases  confirm  the  views  ex- 
pressed. 

Burgoyne,  a  man  of  good  military  capacity,  invaded  the  State 
of  New  York  from  Canada.  Capturing  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga,  his  advance  was  a  continuous  triumph.  Washington 
with  his  army  was  remote  from  the  scene  of  action,  and  no  op- 
posing force  was  capable  of  effective  resistance.  But  as  he 
advanced  step  by  step,  his  strength  diminished  every  day.  The 
country  was  all  but  in  a  state  of  nature ;  he  had  to  cut  his  way 
through  forests,  to  build  bridges  over  streams,  to  make  roads 
across  swamps ;  there  were  no  resources  to  enable  war  to  sup- 
port war ;  stores  had  to  be  transported  from  a  distance  at  enor- 
mous toil  and  cost.  While  this  was  in  progress  the  hostile  militia 
was  converging  from  all  quarters.  He  had  cut  his  way  through 
the  woods  and  swamps  to  the  vicinity  of  Saratoga,  where  in  the 
midst  of  inclement  weather,  with  provisions  exhausted  and  his 
troops  prostrated  with  fatigue,  he  found  himself  surrounded  by 
these  multitudes  of  militia,  and  all  supplies  intercepted.  He 
resolved  to  treat  rather  than  starve  or  fall  back  to  perish  in 
detail ;  and  a  convention  was  signed,  under  which  his  force  was 
to  proceed  to  Boston,  and  thence  to  England.  We  sent  trans- 
ports for  the  men,  but  they  returned  without  them.  Congress 
gave  to  the  people  the  first  lesson  in  repudiation  :  they  were 
detained  as  prisoners  throughout  the  war. 


TIIK    STRUtHJLE    TV    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         183 

The  disaster  of  Yorktown  resuUod  from  similar  causes.  Corn- 
wallis  opentd  the  campaign  with  one  unchcckered  course  of 
success.  He  overtlirew  all  that  opposed  him  in  both  the  Caro- 
linas,  and  proceeded  onward  into  Virginia.  Here,  like  Bur- 
goyne,  he  was  surrounded  by  Washington  on  the  north  and  the 
French  under  Rochambcau  in  the  south,  and  eventually  yielded 
to  numbers.  lidfh  cases  are  thus  striking  illustrations  of  the 
danger  of  invading  a  country  of  vast  extent,  the  people  of 
which  take  active  part  in  the  hostilities ;  and  show  how  a  mili- 
tary force,  though  triumphant  at  the  commencement  of  its  prog- 
ress, yet  when  thinned  and  exhausted  by  the  effects  of  a  cam- 
paign, may  be  surrounded  by  troops  of  inferior  quality,  and 
compelled  either  to  starve  or  to  surrender. 

To  all  these  dangers  an  army  invading  the  Southern  states 
will  be  exposed.  It  may  advance  full  of  ardor  and  hope,  but  in 
every  skirmish  there  will  be  some  diminution  of  its  strength, 
every  march  will  leave  some  stragglers  behind;  it  grows  weaker 
at  every  step,  while  plunging  daily  further  into  the  midst  of  the 
enemy's  strength.  An  army  is  a  ma<'hine  organized  to  fight  an 
army,  not  to  contend  M-ith  a  nation.  The  principle  of  its  con- 
struction unfits  it  for  this  purpose.  Its  strength  is  that  of  con- 
centration-;-when  it  ceases  to  be  a  compatt  body  that  strength 
is  gone.  But  the  j)eople  by  whom  it  is  opposed  are  diffused  over 
a  vast  space  dispersed  beyond  its  reach,  and  they  close  again 
over  the  pathway  it  has  made  as  the  waters  close  over  the  fur- 
row of  a  ship's  keel. 

The  United  States  declared  war  with  this  country  in  1813, 
ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  compelliig  the  abrogation  of  the 
orders  in  council,  really  to  take  Canada,  which  all  assumed  to  be 
an  easy  prey.  The  coucjuest  of  Canada,  then  ])eoplcd  by  a 
handful  of  men,  was  a  small  undertaking  for  the  power  of  the 
Union  when  compared  with  that  now  attempted  by  part  of  it. 
Yet  not  only  were  all  the  invasions  of  that  province  miserably 
abortive,  but  repeated  efforts  failed  even  to  penetrate  the  border 
ol  the  country.  Clear  evidence  appears  in  this  that  forces  or- 
ganized like  those  of  America,  however  eflicient  they  may  be  in 
defence  of  their  own  soil,  arc  altogether  unequal  to  the  invasion 
or  conquest  of  another  country  inhabited  by  men  of  the  same 
race,  and  ready  to  defend  it. 


184  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  means  by  which  the  people  of  the 
Nortli  propose  to  accomplish  this  dilHcult  undertaking.  The 
first  measure  carried  into  operation,  the  blockade,  is  one,  as  we 
have  seen,  entirely  inefficacious  as  a  means  of  subjugating  a 
nation.  The  colonies  of  Spain  when  they  revolted,  as  well  as 
our  own,  were  all  of  them  blockaded  equally  in  vain.  It  will 
cause  individual  loss  and  add  to  the  difficulties' of  the  Southern 
government,  but  the  men  who  make  revolutions  are  not  those 
who  shrink  from  difficulties.  To  the  South  it  will  be  injurious; 
to  the  North,  disastrous  in.  the  end.  It  led  at  once  to  privateer- 
ing in  retaliation,  which  if  the  war  continue  long  may  become 
an  intolerable  nuisance  to  Northern  trade.  It  stops' the  supply 
of  cotton  to  the  Northern  mills,  and  will  soon  paralyze  the  most 
important  branch  of  their  own  industry.  And  in  the  end  it  will 
probably  lead  to  the  interference  of  Euro[)ean  powers  whom  it 
might  have  been  far  wiser  to  leave  in  t!ie  position  of  disinter- 
ested parties. 

But  although  this  use  of  naval  power  appears  as  unwise  as  we 
hold  it  to  be  unconstitutional,  there  are  other  directions  in  which 
it  may  be  employed  with  effect.  It  enables  the  North  to  threaten 
every  point  on  the  coast,  and  to  compel  the  defenders  to  main- 
tain a  force  at  each  of  them.  Five  thousand  men  threatening 
any  one  of  ten  points,  and  compelling  but  two  thousand  to  be 
maintained  at  each,  will  thus  neutralize  four  times  its  own  num- 
ber. Where  numbers  are  so  large  this  loses  much  of  its  impor- 
tance, but  there  remains  the  power  of  actual  attack  by  naval 
expeditions.  At  the  first  view  this  appears  very  practicable ; 
on  closer  examination  such  operations  will  be  found  full  of  diffi- 
culty and  danger.  The  coast  of  the  Southern  states  is  remark- 
ably bare  of  harbors.  The  whole  of  these  of  any  importance 
are  defended  by  fortifications,  generally  believed  last  year  to 
insure  their  safety  against  any  possible  attack;  if  these  defences 
were  impregnable  then  they  should  be  equally  so  now.  Naval 
expeditions  in  summer  would  land  the  troops  in  a  climate  fatal 
enough  without  other  foe  ;  and  this  is  so  well  known  that  such 
operations  must  of  necessity  be  confined  to  the  winter  season, 
when  transports  crowded  with  troops  must  be  exposed  to  disas- 
trous losses  upon  a  coast  so  dangerous  at  that  period  of  the 
vear. 


THE    STRUG({LK    TO    >rAINTAIX    TIIK    UNION.  18o 

Assuming  these  hazards  to  be  surmounted,  and  a  landing 
effected  on  some  point  of  the  coast,  the  expeditionary  force 
would  then  be  placed  thus:  It  will  consist  of  numbers  insufficient 
to  act  with  power  as  an  indepemlent  army,  for  we  know  what 
was  required  to  transport  30,000  men  even  over  a  smooth  sea 
from  Varna  to  Eupatori.i.  On  its  appearance  off  the  coast  tele- 
graphic messages  would  flash  over  the  South,  and  every  railway 
would  hurry  down  the  militia  of  the  neighboring  states.  To 
these  would  be  added  the  Confederate  troops  directed  to  the 
spot,  and  before  the  invading  force  after  establishing  a  depot 
could  make  its  first  inland  march,  it  would  be  fnced  by  an  oppo- 
nent superior  in  numbers,  in  possession  of  all  the  positions  of 
defence,  and  growing  in  strength  every  hour. 

It  cannot  be'  difficult  for  the  Northern  power  to  equip  expe- 
ditions of  this  kind  at  New  York,  and  to  capture  with  them 
,  several  of  the  small  harbors  in  die  Southern  states,  such  as 
Fernandina,  Brunswick,  St.  Augustine.  To  what  effectual  re- 
sult V  Were  we  at  war  with  France,  and  had  they  possession 
of  the  seas,  it  would  not  be  difficult  for  them  to  capture  White- 
haven, once  attacked  by  Paul  Jones,  or  to  take  possession  of 
Bantry  Bay  as  they  did  before.  How  far  would  such  operations 
extend  in  subduing  the  English  people  ?  As  the  Southern  states 
are  twenty  times  as  large  as  England,  what  can  be  the  effect  of 
such  operations  in  subjugating  them  ?  The  policy  of  the  North 
is  so  to  conduct  the  war  as  to  avoid  delay  and  disastrous  ex- 
penditure, by  concentrating  its  strength  upon  a  vigorous,  over- 
whelming, docisivc  blow.  Time  is  a  fatal  foe — time  means  ruin 
through  expenditure  —  time  works  out  the  recognition  of  the 
Southern  power— time  divides  the  North  into  two  hostile  par- 
tics,  and  may  awaken  civil  war  within  itself  Slow  and  desul- 
tory operations  (except  for  the  purpose  of  amusing  the  populace) 
are  therefore  opposed  to  the  interest  of  the  North  —  beguiling 
attention  from  the  vital  importance  of  time  —  ruinous  in  cost  — 
and  incapable  of  decisive  result.* 

*  During  tlie  perind  which  has  ela|>9e(l  since  the  toxt  Wiis  written,  several  of 
these  expeditions  have  been  despatclicd  and  with  just  such  results  as  are  pre- 
dicted. TliHt  which  tank  liatturas  acliieved  the  cunquest  of  a  sand-bunk.  i<epa- 
ratud  from  the  main  land  by  an  inlan<l  ana  and  peopled  by  a  handfnl  of  wreckers. 
The  result  of  the  'Oieat  Armada"  is  the  occupation  of  twj  or  three  small 
IG 


186  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

And  there  are  special  objections  to  this  mode  of  warfare  in 
the  present  instance.  Peace  must  follow  war;  and  here  the 
object  is  to  conquer,  yet  not  to  embitter  those  who  are  to  be 
retained  as  fellow-citizens.  Great  armies  may  overthrow  a 
country,  and  after  a  time  the  fact  may  be  calmly  regarded  as  an 
affair  of  history.  Even  where  great  battles  have  been  fought 
trees  will  soon  clothe  their  shattered  limbs  with  a  fresh  foliage, 
and  where  ruts  have  been  cut  deep  into  the  soil,  nature  ere  long 
will  smooth  them  with  a  coverlet  of  green  or  golden  harvest. 
But  when  in  place  of  the  operations  of  great  armies — instilling 
rather  a  sense  of  solemnity  than  one  of  hatred — the  shoi'es  of  a 
country  are  ravaged  by  expeditionary  attacks — if  towns  are  to 
be  bombarded,  houses  wrapped  in  flames,  churches  pierced  with 
hostile  shot,  and  the  defenceless  included  in  the  common  ruin  — 
this  kind  of  war  drives  a  barbed  sting  into  the  memory  of  a 
people  that  will  rankle  ever  after  in  the  wound. 

Another  objection  to  warfare  thus  conducted  is  the  excessive 
loss  of  life  it  involves.  None  have  had  more  sorrowful  expe- 
rience of  it  than  ourselves,  nor  is  any  page  on  our  records  so 
dismal  as  that  which  narrates  the  history  of  the  Walcheren  ex- 
pedition. There  is  slight  danger  in  tlie  climate  of  any  part  of 
Holland,  when  compared  with  that  to  be  encountered  in  the 
Southern  states.  Nor  is  the  climate  the  only  cause  of  more  than 
usual  fatality.  In  operations  of  this  nature  it  is  essential  to  avoid 
delay ;  in  other  words,  it  is  imperative  to  abandon  the  precau- 
tions by  which,  in  ordinary  warfare,  loss  is  spared.  Rashness 
becomes  a  necessity  of  the  case.  Life  must  be  wasted  that  time 
may  be  saved.  The  current  of  human  blood  must  flow  warm  and 
quick,  and  spurn  the  slow  economy  of  engineering  toil.  And 
what  force  can  issue  from  the  North  more  full  of  hope  and 
promise,  more  gallantly  arrayed,  than  that  with  which  we  at- 
tacked New  Orleans  in  the  last  war  ?  What  more  impressive 
lesson  could  be  offered  than  may  be  read  in  its  disastrous  fate  ? 

islands  of  diluvial  mud  and  the  command  of  a  supply  of  cotton,  which  so  far  as 
yet  collected  would  not  feed  the  Northern  mills  for  twelve  hours  of  work.  It  ia 
quite  possible  that  succeeding  expeditions  may  achieve  mucli  more  than  tliis.  but 
what  can  they  do  toward  the  subjugation  of  a  country  so  vast  that  a  space  as  large 
as  England  mi^^ht  be  taken  from  it  without  being  missed  on  the  map? 


THE    STRt'Or.LK    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         187 

Sad  to  think  that  bravp  men  —  brothers  too  —  are  again  to  be 
euiplojerl,  digging  them  graves  in  those  dank,  festering  swamps. 

A  few  miles  below  the  city  of  New  Orleans  lies  a  narrow, 
level  plain.  The  sullen  river  forms  its  western  boundary;  be- 
tween the  other  margin  and  the  lake  intervenes  a  swamp  of 
stunted  brushwood  and  ill  shapen  trees.  Passing  over  it,  years 
ago,  the  grass  was  long — luxuriant;  but  silence  was  all  around — 
unbroken  solitude.  No  sign  of  man  appeared — nor  foot  of  beast 
— no  voice — no  sound — not  the  faint  tread  of  any  felling  leaf — 
no  smoke  to  witness  that  human  life  abode  there.  No  creature 
moved  upon  the  ground  —  no  bird  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
air.  The  glittering  sunlight  seemed  to  mock  the  loneliness,  as 
sprightly  music  grates  on  one  who  grieves.  Alas,  for  our  gallant 
host  that  once  stood  upon  that  plain  !  Alas,  for  those  that  never 
left  it  more !  Whoever  turns  the  sod  may  learn  how  thick  they 
fell  —  how  many,  who  thought  to  be  folded  to  tlieir  last  sleep  in 
the  old  maternal  breast,  lie  there — for  ever — in  that  clammy  soil. 

The  only  practicable  line  of  operation  appears  to  be  that 
already  adopted,  having  its  base  on  the  Potomac.  Virginia  is  a 
highly  defensible  country,  especially  against  attack  from  the 
North,  as  its  rivers  run  east  and  west,  and  so  form  natural  bar- 
riers in  the  way  of  the  invader.  The  country  is  hilly,  abounds 
in  forests,  the  people  are  the  most  martial,  and  the  best  horsemen 
of  the  Union.  Let  it  be  assumed  that  the  army  issuing  from 
Washington  fight  a  great  battle  and  achieve  a  victory.  Their 
inferiority  in  cavalry,  and  the  nature  of  the  country,  render  it 
improbable  that  any  great  military  results  would  be  gathered. 
The  defeated  force  might  fViU  back  on  their  position  at  Manassas, 
or  further  south  on  Fredericksburg,  there  joining  their  defiots 
and  calling  in  the  forces  at  Acquia  Creek  and  other  detachments 
on  the  river.  Here  another  battle  might  perhaps  be  fought,  and 
again  we  assume  the  Southerners  to  be  defeated.  There  are  not 
less  than  three  strong  positions  between  that  town  and  Rich- 
mond, said  to  be  fortified,  and  ample  time  has  been  afforded  for 
this,  while  the  Norfolk  arsenal  wouhl  supply  an  abundance  of 
heavy  guns.  Probably,  another  engagement  might  be  accepted 
at  one  or  more  of  these  positions,  in  which  we  again  assume  the 


188  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

Southerners  defeated,  and  thus  at  length  the  Federal  army  would 
approach  Richmond. 

That  city  has  the  resources  of  an  old  state  capital  united  with 
those  of  a  commercial  town.  It  has  iron  founderies  and  other 
establishments,  and  its  close  connection  with  Norfolk  places  at 
command  the  appliances  of  the  finest  naval  arsenal  in  the  United 
States.  Surrounded  on  the  north  by  a  country  highly  defensible 
and  systematically  fortified  with  earthworks,  and  protected  on 
the  south  by  thfe  James  river,  Bichmond  would  present  to  vet- 
eran troops  a  formidable  object  of  attack.  Within  the  intrench- 
ments  would  be  assembled  the  population  of  the  city,  the  militia 
of  the  adjoining  counties,  and  the  support  arriving  from  other 
stages,  in  addition  to  the  retreating 'army.  The  Federal  forces 
would  therefore  encounter  the  task  of  assaulting  positions  forti- 
fied with  heavy  guns,  and  defended  by  numbers  pi-obably  larger 
than  their  own  —  fighting  on  their  own  ground  —  animated  by  a 
spirit  of  which  those  alone  can  judge  who  have  been  among  the 
people  of  the  South.  It  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  raw  troops, 
led  by  officers  equally  inexperienced,  reduced  and  worn  by  the 
losses  and  hardships  of  the  campaign,  will  be  equal  to  the 
undertaking  before  them.  Let  us,  however,  assume  that  they 
accomplish  it,  and  that  the  Confederate  government  return  to 
Montgomery. 

The  next  object  of  attack  of  primary  importance  would  be 
Charleston.  The  overthrow  of  Virginia  would  be  accompanied 
by  a  heavy  drawback  —  the  necessity  of  holding  it  down,  of  sti- 
fling the  guerilla  warfare  that  would  arise,  and  of  maintaining 
in  security  the  line  of  communication  Avith  Washington.  The 
state  being  as  large  as  England  and  much  more  defensible,  its 
people  intensely  hostile  and  embittered  by  defeat,  the  strength 
of  no  small  army  must  be  absorbed  in  this  duty,  before  further 
advance  could  be  made.  The  strongest  army  that  has  yet  ap- 
peared in  the  North  would  hardly  suffice  for  this  purpose,  even 
after  the  disappearance  of  the  regular  army  of  the  South.  It  is 
not,  indeed,  until  after  the  conquest  of  the  first  border  state  that 
the  Northern  force  will  begin  truly  to  realize  the  nature  of  its 
enterprise.     The  anxiety  and  difficulty  of  the  invader  are  in  the 


the'stuugglk  to  maintain  thk  union.      189 

rear.  A  hostile  state  must  first  be  passed  over  that  a  rear  may 
exist,  before  this  will  come  into  force.    - 

Let  us  assume  that  an  army  has  been  jirovided  to  garrison  the 
towns  of  Virginia  and  hold  down  the  state,  and  tliat  another  is 
ready  to  advance  to  the  attack  of  Charleston.  That  city  is  de- 
fended on  one  side  by  a  noble  harbor,  and  on  two  others  by 
large  rivers,  the  Ashley  and  the  Cooper.  To  complete  the  cir- 
cuit requires  only  a  line  from  river  to  river  across  the  intei'ven- 
ing  ground  by  which  alone  the  assailants  can  approach.  Here 
would  be  assembled  the  spirited  population  of  the  city  and  state, 
and  the  forces  of  the  adjoining  states  of  Georgia  and  Alabama — 
the  militia  of  the  three  being  in  number  by  the  last  army  regis- 
ter 191,362  men.  To  the  strength  obtainable'  out  of  this  number 
would  be  added  that  of  the  retreating  army  and  the  aid  from 
distant  quarters.  In  all  probability  the  defenders  would  be 
much  more  numerous  than  the  assailants  —  reduced  as  the  latter 
would  be  by  no  ordinary  march,  fo''  the  distance  from  Washing- 
ton to  Charleston  is  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  To  attempt  an 
attack  if  such  were  the  circumstances  would  most  probably  be 
to  invite  a  disastrous  repulse,  and  expose  the  assailing  force  to 
the  fate  of  Burgoyne.  And  after  all,  if  Charleston  were  taken, 
it  need  of  necessity  have  no  more  result  upon  this  war  than 
when  taken  by  us  in  that  of  the  Revolution.  New  Orleans  is 
as  independent  of  it,  in  any  military  sense,  as  Lisbon  of  Con- 
stantinople. When  taken  by  us,  after  a  gallant  defence,  it  cost 
more  in  the  garrison  it  absorbed  than  we  ever  gained  in  any  ad- 
vantage from  its  occupation. 

An  operation  has  been  proposed  —  the  descent  of  the  Missis- 
sippi from  Cairo,  wiiicli,  to  any  one  acquainted  with  that  river, 
has  almost  a  ludicrous  aspect.  Such  a  measurt/  may  be  classed 
with  that  of  calling  out  volunteers  tor  three  months,  tor  the  pur- 
pose of  subduing  a  countfy,  merely  to  cross  which  would  be  at 
least  a  four  months  march.  From  Cairo  to  New  Orleans  bv  the 
river  is  about  a  thousand  miles  —  the  whole  length  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  and  all  conunanding  positions  mounted  witli  guns. 
Troops  could  not  be  conveyed  in  the  river  steamers,  all  of  which 
have  the  boilers  above  the  deck,  and  are  of  the  flimsiest  and 
most  inflammable  construction.     It  would  be  the  work  of  years 


190  THE    AMERICAN     UNION. 

to  construct  such  a  flotilla  as  might  face  the  fire  of  artillery,  and 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  transport  of  forty  thousand  men  and 
the  stores  required.  It  has,  indeed,  been  proposed  that  the 
troops  should  march  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  using  it  only 
as  a  mode  of  conveying  the  heavier  stores.  The  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  for  hundreds  of  miles  of  its  course  are  one  dreary, 
monotonous  scene  of  interminable  swamp  and  jungle  —  impene- 
trable to  other  progress  than  that  of  snakes  and  lizards,  and 
dismal  as  a  camping  ground  even  for  the  musquitoes  that  are  the 
only  inhabitants.  If  at  a  very  wide  distance  indeed  from  the 
river,  such  a  march  were  accomplished,  few  would  be  likely  to 
arrive  at  New  Orleans  in  fit  condition  to  attack  the  fortifications 
that  would  await  them,  and  to  defeat  many  times  their  own 
number,  whom  there  would  have  been  ample  opportunity  to 
assemble  during  the  four  months  that  march  must  occupy. 

There  is  a  resource  which  has  been  frequently  alluded  to  — 
abstinence  from  which  has  been  described  as  proof  of  almost 
sublime  magnanimity— r that  of  declaring  at  once  emancipation 
of  the  slaves,  and  so  prostrating  the  South  at  one  fell  blow. 
This  at  first,  as  the  resolve  of  some  principle  shrinking  from  no 
sacrifice,  all  would  have  respected,  whatever  the  opinion  of  its 
wisdom.  Now,  as  an  act  of  revenge  and  spite,  because  the 
people  of  the  South  could  not  otherwise  be  subdued,  it  would 
stamp  on  the  page  of  American  history  a  stigma  dark  and  indel- 
ible—  that  never,  we  trust,  may  appear  there.  Beyond  this  it 
would  be  an  act  of  vindictive  impotence.  If  the  negroes  re- 
solve to  rise,  they  will  wait  for  no  act  of  Congress — without 
such  resolve  on  their  part,  a  proclamation  would  be  addressed  to 
the  idle  wind.  And  how  would  it  help  the  slaves  to  rise  who 
are  a  thousand  miles  oflf — who  is  to  take  it  down  there  to  read 
to  them — to  go  provided  also,  as  he  need  be,  with  railway 
tickets  and  other  arrangements  for  the  removal  of  four  millions 
of  human  beings  ?  To  leave  them  where  they  are,  would  simply 
be  to  light  the  flames  of  servile  war,  and  this  as  we  have  seen, 
would  speedily  be  quenched  in  blood  —  leaving  only  behind  the 
waste  of  so  much  human  life,  and  a  never-dying  memory  to 
avenge. 

The  proclamation  of  Fremont  is  another  striking  illustration 


THE    STRUGGLi;    TO    M.MNTAIN    Till:    UNION.         191 

how  with  po-iticians  this  great  question  is  simply  one  of  the  con- 
venience of  the  liour.  The  Unionist* — the  Northerner  in  senti- 
ment may  retain  and  rejoice  in  his  slaves ;  in  the  Southerner  it 
remains  a  crime.  Slavery  has  existed  in  all  ages,  in  many 
countries;  hei'e  alone  conscience  has  been  graduated  —  reduced 
to  calculation — taught  to  discover  in  the  slave  three-fifths  of  a 
man  —  to  discern  in  him  a  thing  "contraband  of  war"  —  and 
now  to  declare  the  ownership  of  him  a  party-colored  ("rime  — 
sinful  in  the  opponei.t,  blameless  in  the  ally.  What  conceivable 
outrage  on  principle  could  be  more  worthy  of  a  i)roclamation 
that  copies  the  ferocity  of  the  Mexican  creole,  and  ordains  that 
fdlow-counti-ymen  are  to  be  shot,  and  this  in  the  name  of  Union 
— for  the  simple  crime  that  as  citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
they  obey  the  orders  of  the  lawful  authorities  of  their  state  ? 

It  results  from  the  previous  considerations  that  there  is  but 
one  contingency  that  might  j^ermit  this  conquest  to  be  achieved. 
It  is  possible  that  a  series  of  victories  won  by  the  North  might, 
although  barren  of  military  result,  induce  feelings  of  despond- 
ency, of  panic,  and  thus  induce  the  people  of  the  South  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  This  seems  indeed  the  only  theory  or  rather 
hope,  consistent  with  reason.  On  what  ground  can  it  be  based  ? 
We  have  seen  the  extreme  improbability  of  such  victories,  but 
assuming  that  they  should  occur,  New  Orleans  is  fourteen  hun- 
dred miles  trom  AVashington;  no  panic  can  span  that  distance. 
No  reason  appears  why  greater  effect  should  be  produced  by  the 
capture  of  any  city  than  by  that  of  the  capital  when  taken  in 
the  last  war.  On  this  point,  on  tlie  28th  January  last,  Mr. 
Ivcrson  spoke. thus  in  the  Senate:  "You  boast  of  your  superior 

♦General  Pliclps  lias  since  issued  a  proclamation.  The  use  of  the  pen  seems 
preferred  by  most  of  the  generals  to  that  of  the  sword.  So  far  as  it  may  bo  un- 
derstood, it  Would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  pathway  to  the  freedom  of  the  negro 
is  throuph  a  study  of  tlie  American  Constitution.  This  is  no  doubt  nearer  to  his 
reach  than  the  'transcendental"'  freedom  of  Mrs.  Stowe.  The  latter  at  a  first 
view  seems  very  distant,  but  another  gentle  advocate  has  gone  beyond  it.  Mr. 
Ex  minister  Fay.  after  disentangling  his  mind  from  some  strange  associations 
with  t>hadrach.  Mevbech.  and  Abcdnego  avcends  beyond  the  "transcendental." 
and  attains  the  •  apocalyi)tic."  So  far.  as  matter  of  fact  the  negro  Seems  likely  to 
pain  little  by  the  Constitution,  the  transcendental,  the  apocalyptic,  or  even  the 
perusal  of  the  seventh  chapter  of  Joshua  wliich,  although  read  to  Congress  for 
his  bcnetit.  has  no  reference  to  slavery  whatc\er. 


102  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

numbers  and  strength,  but  remember  that  the  race  is  not  always 
to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.  You  have  one  hun- 
dred thousand  fighting  men ;  so  have  we.  And  fighting  upon 
our  own  soil,  and  to  preserve  our  rights,  and  vindicate  our 
lionor,  and  defend  our  homes,  our  firesides,  our  wives  and  chil- 
dren from  the  invader,  we  shall  not  be  easily  conquered.  You 
may  overrun  us,  desolate  our  fields,  burn  our  dwellings,  lay  our 
cities  in  ruin,  murder  our  people,  and  redu<"e  us  to  beggary,  but 
you  cannot  subdue  and  subjugate  us  to  your  will.  You  may 
whip  us,  but  we  will  not  stay  whipped.  We  will  rise  again  and 
again  to  vindic^ate  our  liberty  and  to  throw  off  your  oppressive 
and  accursed  yoke,  and  we  will  never  cease  the  strife  until  our 
race  is  extinguished  and  our  fair  land  given  over  to  desolation." 
This  does  not  seem  the  language  of  those  who  will  lose  heart 
on  a  defeat,  or  on  a  series  of  defeats,  or  who,  possessed  still  of 
ample  means  of  material  resistance,  will  be  subdued  by  moral 
disiyay.  Where  hatred  exists,  defeat  adds  to  its  bitterness  —  it 
does  not  change  it  to  alarm.  We  have  ah'eady  seen  what  ties 
were  severed — what  long-continued  efforts  were  made  by  this 
same  people  when  the  only  motive  that  existed  was  the  desire  of 
self-government.  Success  was  then  acliieved  through  a  long  and 
often  dismal  career  of  losses  and  defeats  by  the  simple  power  of 
perseverance.  The  policy  to  be  adopted  now  by  the  leaders  of 
the  South  needs  no  invention.  They  have  but  to  retreat  and 
endure,  leaving  time,  and  space,  and  the  expenditure  of  the 
North  to  decide  the  contest.  Dofeats  in  battle  occurred  before  ; 
perseverance  triumphed  in  spite  of  them.  This  knowledge 
indeed  gives  now  a  support  which  their  fathers  had  not.  With 
them  it  was  a  desperate  venture  of  which  the  end  had  to  be 
darkly  conjectured.  Now,  to  the  force  of  their  example  is 
added  the  sustaining  power  of  full  knowledge  of  that  result. 
And  the  prize  that  allures  ambition  is  incomparably  more  daz- 
zling than  any  hope  of  the  earlier  time.  Tliere  was  then  the 
desire  of  independence  with  no  accompaniment  of  other  gain. 
The  colonies  had  no  material  interests  to  be  promoted  by  the 
attempted  change,  and  there  were  some  that  looked  to  suffer 
and  did  suffer  heavily  for  years.  Here,  to  the  old  desire  of  inde- 
pendence  and  self-goveriniient,  is  added  the   escape  from  the 


THK    STRUCiCJIiE    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    UNION.         193 

tbralilom  of  Northern  monopolists,  and  liberation  from  a  rule  not 
only  rcgardod  as  alion,  but  felt  to  be  repnlsive. 

There  will  indeed  glitter  before  the  eye  of  the  aspiring  an 
empire  in  the  future  far  beyond  that  of  the  colonist — an  empire 
extending  from  the  home  of  Washington  to  the  ancient  palaces 
of  Montezuma — uniting  the  proud  old  colonies  of  England  with 
Spain's  richest  and  most  romantic  dominions — combining  the 
productions  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississip[)i  with  the  min- 
eral riches,  the  magical  beauty,  the  volcanic  grandeur  of  Mexico, 
and  commanding  the  materials  of  commerce  throughout  this 
wide  expanse,  from  tha  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  no  longer  tram- 
melled by  the  r(^st^ictions  nor  taxed  bj'  the  cupidity  of  others. 
TJp  these  as  incentives  to  effort  or  motives  for  endurance,  tlrose 
were  feeble  that  sustained  this  people  in  their  previous  struggle. 
Here  are  objects  that  stimulate  ambition,  inflame  imagination, 
enkindle  hope,  engrafted  upon  others  that  address  themselves  to 
rea.son  and  to  justice.  All  know  the  tenacity  with  which  in 
every  age  and  country  nations  have  clung  to  the  thought  of  lib- 
ert}'.  And  no  instance  can  we  find  where,  in  addition  to  that 
impulse,  there  were  motives  so  powerful  as  these.  In  this  view 
we  must  expect  that  the  people  of  the  South  will  maintain  this 
struggle  for  their  indei)endence  as  arduously  and  for  as  many 
years  as  were  needed  in  the  first  instance  to  acquire  it. 

What,  then,  must  be  expected  as  the  issue  of  the  war  in  this 
anticipated  perseverance  of  the  Southern  people?  We  have 
seen  that  they  possess  the  advantage  of  greater  experience  and 
natural  aptitude  both  in  political  and  military  affairs — that  their 
habits  are  better  adapted  to  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  war, 
to  authority  in  conmiand,  or  alacrity  in  obedience — that  their 
choice  of  pasitions  more  than  supplies  the  place  of  numbers  — 
that  the  financial  effects  of  the  war  will  be  to  them  of  compara- 
tively easy  endurance — that  they  have  in  their  favor  space  and 
time — and  that  ample  motives  exist  for  that  perseverance  which 
is  all  that  is  requisite  to  insure  success. 

Hence,  we  cou'luile  that  the  attempt  to  subdue  such  a  country 
and  such  a  people  is  a  lamentable  delusion  —  attempti^d,  not  as 
the  decision  of  calm  ju<lgnu'nf,  but  the  rash  result  of  that  un- 
reasoning excitement  to  which  the  people  of  the  North  are  now 
17 


194  THE   AMERICAN    UNION. 

subject.  If  this  be  so,  it  follows  that  a  continuance  of  the  war 
can  have  no  other  result  than  to  leave  the  people  of  the  South  in 
possession  of  the  political  liberty  they  now  possess,  and  to  bur- 
then the  North  with  a  crushing  load  of  debt  that  will  have  pur- 
chased nothing  but  taxation  for  themselves  and  bitter  memories 
to  descend  as  a  baneful  legacy  to  future  generations. 


CiiAPTKR  viii; 

GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS. 

We  have  obscrvoii  tliat  this  country  Is  not  a  disinterested 
spectator  of  tlie  present  conflict,  bnt,  on  tlie  contrary,  is  even 
now  suffering  from  its  conse(]uences,  wliile  soon  the  largest 
branch  of  our  industry  will  be  paralyzed,  not  from  incidents 
inevitable  in  war,  to  be  endured  with  resignation  and  long- 
suffei*ing  patience,  but  from  a  deliberate  and,  in  our  judgment, 
unessential  act  of  one  of  the  belligerents.  As  our  population 
more  or  less  depending  on  the  cotton  trade  is  estimated  at  four 
millions,  the  amount  of  destitution  and  woe  that  may  bo  inflicted, 
by  the  sudden  deprivation  of  that  material  is  such  that  the  mind 
shrinks  from  the  attempt  to  gaugd  it.  For  how  many  years  is  this 
to  continue?  We  see  nothing  to  prevent  the  present  war  from 
lasting,  as  civil  wars  have  always  endured,  for  a  long  series  of 
years,  unless,  indeed,  a  financial  collapse  of  the  Northern  power 
should  bring  it  to  a  sudden  termination.  A  year  will  very  soon 
hav«  elapsed  since  the  formation  of  the  Southern  government. 
In  that  time  the  people  of  the  North,  so  fh,r  from  having  made 
any  progress  in  the  contest,  are  clearly  further  from  the  subju- 
gation of  the  South  than  at  the  commencement  of  the  campaign. 
They  have  expended  an  enormous  sum,  sustained  a  deplorable 
defeat,  and  exposed  the  hollowuess  of  their  military  system; 
they  are  now  dividing  into  parties  rancorously  opposed,  and  their 
forces  remain  within  sight  of  the  original  starting  point. 

It  has  been  strongly  urged  that  we  have  no  right  to  think  of 
the  position  of  our  own  working  class,  or  to  give  any  heed  to 
what  may  appear  our  own  individual  interest  in  the  result,  and 
this  on  tlic  ground  that  great  primiplcs  are  at  issue  which  com- 
mand our  deference.  One  of  these  is  that  .love  for  law  and 
order  which,  it  is  argued,  should  enlist  our  sympathies  with  a 


196  TUB    AMERICAN    UNION. 

government  struggling  to  crush  rebellion.  This  argument  is 
weakened  in  its  force  when  it  comes  from  men  who  throughout 
their  history  have  never  themselves  permitted  an  opportunity 
of  sympathizing  with  rebellion  to  escape.  As  each  of  the  col- 
onies of  Spain  revolted  none  were  so  eager  to  encourage  the 
rebels;  and  when  the  attempt  at  insurrection  occurred  in  Canada 
none  were  more  more  prominent  actors  than  American  citizens, 
under  the  name  of  "  sympathizers." 

This,  however,  would  not  affect  whatever  merits  there  may  be 
in  the  plea.  Assuredly,  there  is  no  disposition  in  this  country  to 
lean  in  favor  of  turmoil ;  but  we  cannot  regard  an  act  as  one  of 
rebellion,  or  treason,  or  piracy,  simply  because  these  names  are 
applied  to  it.  We  are  told  that  in  the  United  States  the  people 
are  the  sovereign.  Here  is  an  act  committed  by  many  millions 
of  this  sovereign  people  ;  against  whom  do  they  rebel  ?  Can  a 
sovereign,  or  a  large  portion  of  a  sovereignty,  be  a  rebel?  In 
the  usual  meaning  of  our  language  rebellion  is  an  act  of  the  sub- 
ject. Are,  then,  many  millions  of  the  sovereign  people  of  the' 
United  States  subjects,  and  to  whom  ?  Who  is  the  monarch  so 
supreme  that  in  comparison  even  the  sovereignty  of  the  people 
may  be  termed  a  rebel  ?  Is  it  the  law  ?  But  where  is  the  law '? 
Assertions  are  not  laws,  nor  yet  ambitibas  theories,  nor  yet  con- 
ceptions of  advantage.  Laws  are  enactments,  solemn,  compre- 
hensible, on  known  or  legible  record.  Where,  then,  is  the  law 
which  the  states  of  the  South  have  broken  ?  And  as  in  Amea'ica 
the  government  is  niSrely  an  agent,  then,  as  there  exists  no  law 
that  forbids  tlie  secession  of  a  state,  against  whom  or  what  do 
they  rebel ? 

It  is  true  we  are  a  loyal  people,  but  ours  is  not  the  loyalty  of 
those  who  hug  the  trappings  of  divine  right ;  ours  is  a  loyalty 
based  on  reason,  on  experience,  on  full  knowledge  that  in  union 
with  the  advantages  of  order  we  enjoy  the  blessings  of*  liberty. 
And  our  love  of  liberty  is  so  strong  that  we  cannot  spurn  the 
desire  for  it  in  others.  Be  our  ignorance  of  the  merits  of  this 
question  ever  so  great,  we  behold  a  country  of  vast  extent  and 
large  numbers  earnestly  desiring  self-government.  It  threatens 
none,  demands  nothing,  attacks  no  one,  but  wishes  to  rule  itself, 
and  desires  to  be  "  let  alone."     Another  portion  of  the  same 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  197 

country,  stronger  and  richer,  asserts  tliat  it  shall  not  rule  itself, 
and  proceeds  to  invade  it  with  fire  and  sword  in  the  name  of  free 
institutions. 

Institutions  may  be  wise  or  beneficent,  but  when  imposed  on 
a  great  people  by  force  of  arms  will  they  be  free  institutions  ? 
We  feed  a  slave  well,  we  clothe  him,  we  attend  to  his  health,  we 
surround  him  with  protection — he  eats  and  sleeps;  grows  strong, 
and  is  full  of  empty  laughter  —  yet  he  is  a  slave.  Thei'c  are  no 
chains  that  clank  upon  his  limbs  —  we  have  imposed  fetters  on 
his  will.  Slavery,  then,  is  not  material,  but  mental — not  bondage 
of  the  man,  but  imprisoiunent  of  the  man's  mind.  When  the 
mind,  the  will,  of  a  great  people  is  restrained  and  directed  by 
force  of  others,  in  what  does  it  diflf'er  from  this?  What  is  lib- 
erty ?  Is  it  permission  to  grow  cotton,  or  the  privilege  to  live 
and  trade  ?  These  things  may  be  done  in  Abyssinia.  There 
must  be  a  something  above,  beyond  these  things — the  freedom  of 
a  people's  will.  If  this  be  denied,  where  will  liberty  be — in  what 
will  it  consist?  That  noblest  of  man's  possessions  was  never  yet 
allotte<l  to  him  as  the  gift  of  great  armies  coming  upon  his  soil. 
Never  yet  have  the  strong  invaded  the  weaker  to  impose  liberty 
upon  them.  They  who  invite  us  to  sympathize  with  overwhelm- 
ing force,  or  to  approve  the  armed  invasion  of  a  free  people, 
may  invoke  law,  or  compact,  or  grandeur,  or  trade — they  cannot 
beguile  us  with  the  name  of  liberty. 

Is  any  other  principle  really  involved  in  this  contest  ?  The 
people  of  the  North  might  have  resorted  to  force  to  emancipate 
the  negro.  Had  they  done  so,  all  thoughtful  men  would  have 
shuddered  at  the  j)robable  consequences  of  attempting  such  a 
change  by  such  means  —  yet  wovdd  have  looked  with  respect  on 
so  magnanimous  a  sacrifice.  We  have  seen  on  ample  evidence 
that  no  such  object  existed. —  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  the  war  was  to  retain  the  South  in  the  Union,  and  with 
it  to  retain  and  to  perpetuate  slavery  in  the  Union.  The  Abo- 
litionists would  have  us  to  believe  the  reverse  of  this;  they  tell 
us  the  reason  "  that  this  war  has  not  been  proclaimed  a  war  for 
the  emaiKijialion  of  the  negro,  specifically,  was  because  the 
extent  and  magnitude  of  the  issue  transcended  the  wants  of  any 
particular  race,  and  had  to  do  with  the  very  existence  of  free 


198  THE    AMERICAN    UNIONT^ 

society."*  This  transcendental  freedom  is  too  ethereal  for  the 
present  world.  The  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln  are  less  elaborate ; 
they  appear  the  truthful  words  of  an  earnest  man.  He,  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  not  only  abjured  this  as  the 
object  of  the  war,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  expressed  his  willing- 
ness that  by  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  slavery  should 
be  made  irrevocable  in  the  states,  so  far  as  the  Federal  power 
could  extend. 

By  this  time,  indeed,  the  true  purpose  of  the  war  must  be 
plain  to  any  compreliension.  It  is  simply  the  old  ambition  in  a 
new  guise.  Formerly  it  filled  the  breast  of  one  man ;  when  it 
impels  a  sovereign  people  it  cannot  be  less  selfish,  and  may  be 
more  reprehensible.  Sovereigns,  too,  who  have  gone  forth  to 
invade  and  subdue  have  attacked  other  races  and  acted  without 
disguise.  It  remained  for  the  present  time  to  witness  one  part 
of  the  same  people  attempting  to  subjugate  the  other.  What- 
ever be  the  apology  or  the  motive  —  the  fact  is  there. 

And  beyond  the  question  of  any  principle  at  issue,  we  have 
been  told  that  we  are  under  some  peculiar  obligation  which  we 
cannot  rightfully  discard  —  that  there  exists  some  fine,  impercep- 
tible tie  that  should  be  binding  upon  us,  upon  our  thoughts, 
opinions,  sympathies  —  that  we  are,  indeed,  the  "natural  alHes" 


*  It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  why  any  gect  sliould  coufine  its  denunciations  to 
one  ijarticular  evil,  to.  the  exclusion  of  others  ever  so  great.  Still  more  remark- 
able is  it  that  Mrs.  Stowe  should  be  so  intensely  zealous  in  the  direction  of  negro 
slavery,  a  very  fashionable  grievance,  and  yet  be  incapable  of  perceiving  another 
form  in  which  slavery  exists  in  the  United  States  incomparably  more  repulsive 
and  iniquitous.  There  is  the  great  territory  of  Utah,  with  its  governor,  and  its 
delegates  to  Congress,  and  its  Supreme  coiirt,  and  also,  like  the  South,  its  "  do- 
mestic institution."  There  is  Mr.  Prophet  Brigham  Young,  with  his  thirty  wives, 
numbered  from  number  one  to  number  thirty.  None  assert  that  slavery  has  hurt 
the  negro  bodily;  it  has  cramped  his  tlioughts  and  debased  his  spirit.  And  has 
ho  slavery  cramped  the  thoughts  or  debased  the  spirit  —  has  none  stung  and  be- 
numbed the  mind  with  its  poison,  where  white  women  are  found  submissive  to  be 
stalled,  and  ticketed,  and  numbered?  Is  there  notliing  in  this  to  awake  our  sensi- 
bility, or  shall  all  pity  for  our  sisters  be  forbidden  unless  their  color  be  black?  If 
there  be  a  woman's  mission  in  Amorica  if  there  bo  any  domestic  institution 
which  should  rightfully  stir  to  its  innermost  depths  the  indignant  spirit  of  a  wo- 
man, surely  it  is  to  see  her  sisters,  women  of  her  own  race,  with  long  hair,  and 
skin  transparent  to  a  blush,  enslaved  to  masters  of  the  same  color,  aud  so  debased 
as  to  surrender  upon  such  an  altar,  not  the  paganism  of  Africa,  but  the  Christian- 
ity of  our  own  people,  and  the  civilization  of  our  own  ago. 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  199 

of  the  Northern  power.  In  what  consists  the  evidence  of  this 
ncatural  alliance ;  what  ftuit  has  it  yielded  by  which  it  may  be 
known ;  what  treatment  have  we  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
Union  that  should  leave  us  under  this  sense  of  obligation,  or 
awaken  an  eagerness  on  our  part  to  see  that  Union  restored  ? 

A  French  writer,  Raymond,  comments  upon  the  singular  fact 
that  while  between  England  and  France  but  one  serious  quarrel 
has  occurred  since  1815,  there  have  arisen  during  the  same 
period  twelve  or  thirteen  most  serious  difficulties  between  the 
United  States  and  ourselves.  He  makes  the  observation  that 
when  people  play  so  often  with  fire  it  will  end  some  day  in  a 
conflagration.  Now,  if  these  incessant  difficulties  have  arisen 
from  faults  of  temper  or  an  overreaching  spirit  on  our  part,  it 
api)ears  remarkable  that  such  a  disposition  should  not  have 
affected  our  intercourse  with  France.  When  such  qualities 
exist  they  are  usually  well  known  to  the  nearest  neighbor. 

Since  the  period  of  American  independence  we  have  had  two 
great  wars.  On  each  occasion  we  resisted  great  military  empires 
in  support  of  weaker  powers  who  were  struggling  to  maintain 
their  independence.  When  thus  employed  we  had  some  right 
to  expect  the  sympathy,  if  nothing  more,  of  those  who  have 
made  the  name  of  independence  an  object  of  idolatry.  But 
throughout  the  whole  of  our  struggle  with  Napoleon  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  great  majority  in  the  United  States  was  with  the 
military  despot,  not  with  the  free  people;  and  at  length,  when 
our  strength  was  supposed  to  be  fully  occupied,  our  "  natural 
allies  "  took  the  opportunity  to  make  war  upon  us  on  a  pretext 
equally  applicable  to  France,  and  for  the  real  purpose  of  taking 
from  us  some  of  our  provinces.  The  other  great  war  was  with 
Russia  —  a  war  entered  upon  against  everj'-  narrow  calculation 
of  interest,  to  prevent  a  weak  ])Ower  from  being  trampled  down. 
All  know  with  whom  was  then  the  sympathy  of  the  United 
States;  and  Golovin,  who,  as  a  Russiati,  should  be  a  good 
authority,  remarks  that  "  the  true  secret  of  American  sympathy 
with  Russia  on  that  occasion  was  hatred  of  England."  We- 
have  had  minor  wars  with  China,  conducted  on  the  principle  of 
throwing  open  to  the  world  every  advantage  obtained  by  our- 
selves.    On  one  occasion  we  invited  the  co-operation  of  the 


200  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

American  government,  but  in  vain,  and  every  opportunity  was 
seized  to  thwart  our  policy.  Even  the  Chinese  know  they  may 
expect  to  see  the  flag  of  any  other  power  in  union  with  our  own, 
but  never  tliat  of  America.  There  was,  indeed,  a  moment, 
when  our  men  were  falh'ng  under  a  murderous  fire,  that  for 
once  an  American  was  heard  to  declare  that  "  blood  was  thicker 
than  water."  It  would  ill  become  us  to  forget  the  noble  conduct 
of  Commodore  Tatnall  on  that  occasion.  He  was  a  Southerner, 
and  is  now  a  "  traitor  and  a  rebel." 

The  Oregon  boundary  question  was  pushed  to  the  very  brink 
of  war,  when  for  peace'  sake  we  were  constrained  to  abandon 
our  settlements  long  established  upon  the  Columbia  river. 
There  was  another  boundary  question,  that  of  Maine.  Let  any 
one  take  the  present  map  of  the  United  States,  and  consider,  as 
a  matter  of  reason,  whether,  when  peace  terminated  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  a  boundary  line  would  be  so  drawn  as  to  sever  our 
colonies  in  two,  and  this  at  a  point  where  nothing  existed  of 
interest  or  value  to  the  United  States.  That  peace  was  nego- 
tiated by  Franklin.  When  the  treaty  on  this  subject  was  made 
by  Lord  Ashburton,  the  government  of  the  United  States  was 
in  possession  of  the  map  sent  by  Franklin  to  the  French  minis- 
try, and  deposited  in  their  archives  —  a  map  authenticated  by  a 
note  in  his  own  handwriting.  On  that  map  appeared  a  strong 
red  ink  line  drawn  by  Franklin's  own  hand,  and  referred  to  in 
his  note.  The  government  was  al.'~o  possessed  of  a  map  found 
in  Jefferson's  collection,  on  which  again  a  similar  red  ink  line 
delineated  the  tiue  boundary.  Franklin's  map  was  disco^■ered 
by  Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  who,  wJien  forwarding  it  to  the  United 
States  government,  wrote  thus:  "The  line  is  bold  and  distinct 
in  every  part,  made  with  red  ink.  There  is  no  other  coloring 
on  any  part  of  the  map.  Imagine  my  surprise  on  discovering 
that  this  line  was  wholly  south  of  the  St.  John's.  It  is  exactly 
the  line  tontended  for  by  Great  Britain,  except  that  it  concedes 
more  than  is  claimed."  All  this  evidence  was  produced  before 
the  Senate  —  Jefferson's  map  as  well  as  Franklin's  —  the  two  as 
Mr.  Rives  observed,  "  coinciding  minutely  and  exactly."  Here 
Avas  absolute  proof  of  the  truth.  Yet  it  does  not  appear  that 
one  was  found  in  that  Senate  to  rise  ajid  say,  "  Let  us  do  what 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  201 

is  rijzlit ;  we  see  in  Franklin's  own  liandwriting— 'as  though  he 
had  risen  from  tlie  grave  to  instruct  us  —  what  was  tlic  true 
boundary  agreed  to  by  him ;  let  us  obtain  no  advantage  by  eon- 
coalment  of  these  maps,  but  seek  what  is  just  to  others  and 
honoralile  to  ourselves."  Tn  the  place  of  sueh  sentiments,  it 
appears  to  have  been  considered  a  clever  thing  to  cajole  a  Brit- 
ish negotiator,  and  to  sever  Canada  from  Ni^w  Brunswick. 

The  boundaries  of  the  waters  have  been  disputed  as  well  as 
those  of  the  land,  and  there  was  the  tempcistuous  question  of 
the  fisheries  along  the  shores  of  our  own  coasts.  To  this  fol- 
lowed the  Crimean  enlistment  difficulty.  In  that  case,  unques- 
tionably, the  zeal  of  .subordinate  ofHcers,  who  foolishly  imagined 
that  American  sympathy  would  be  with  the  oppressed  and  with 
us,  carried  them  beyond  a  proper  limit,  but  their  action  was  in- 
stantly disavowed  by  our  govermiient.  At  the  worst,  it  was 
assuredly  no  ground  to  subject  this  country  to  the  coarse  insult 
of  dismissinj^  its  minister  from  Washington.  The  Central  Amer- 
ican question,  another  of  tliis  prolific  family,  was  after  endless 
difficulties  apparently  adjusted  at  last  by  the  Clayton-Bulwer 
treaty,  but  this  question  had  a  second  life.  After  the  dispute  as 
to  the  territory  was  settled  by  the  treaty,  the  treaty  itself  had 
to  be  disputed,  and  the  remarkable  effort  made  of  teaching  us 
the  signification  of  the  words  of  our  own  language;  all  of  which 
ended,  as  usual,  in  our  retiring  for  peace'  sake  from  positions' 
occupied  by  us  before  the  United  States  had  come  into  exist- 
ence. Then  sprung  up  Avith  sudden  violence  the  (Question  of 
searching  slavers,  which  threatened  us  with  "broadsides  first 
and  explanations  afterwarii,"  and  which  resulted  in  the  fact 
that  the  slaver  has  only  to  hoist  the  "stars  and  stripes"  as  the 
shield  of  his  iniquitous  traffic,  and  go  on  unharmed.  Last,  so 
far,  was  the  seizure  but  the  other  day  of  the  island  of  San 
Juan — a  little  islet,  as  natural  a  dependency  of  the  great  island 
of  Vancouv^er  as  are  the  Scilly  isles  of  Cornwall.  Tliis  was 
seized  and  occupied  in  military  force,  although  at  the  time 
the  connnissioners  of  the  two  countries  were  employed  in  draw- 
ing the  boundary.  The  event  might  have  kimlled  war  be- 
tween the  two  countries  had  not  the  admiral  on  the. station 
refrained  from  using  his  overwhchning  force  to  throw  the  invad- 


202  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

ers  into  the  sea.  This  remains  on  hand  a  pending  difficulty, 
for  our  offer  of  reference  to  an  impartial  power  has  not  been 
accepted.  When  it  reappears  the  doctrine  of  the  Ostend  mani- 
festo need  but  to  be  applied  to  demand  Vancouver's  island  as 
well  as  its  little  dependency.* 

From  this  sketch  of  the  treatment  received  by  us  from  the 
Union  it  would  hardly  appear  that  we  are  placed  under  any 
obligation,  or  burthened  with  the  duty  to  desire  its  continuation. 
Is  there  in  the  histoiy  of  modern  times  any  instance  of  similar 
treatment  received  by  one  great  power  at  the  hands  of  another? 
Nor  does  it  appear  likely  to  amend  now  that  the  North  has 
taken  the  rule  into  its  own  hands.  No  American  could  be  una- 
ware that  the  Morrill  tariff  would  be  a  grievous  injury  to  this 
country.  They  know  that  with  the  exception  of  tobacco,  taxed 
for' the  sole  purpose  of  revenue,  we  receive  their  products  free 
of  duty.  We  hear  of  no  one  who  cared  to  think  of  the  gross 
injustice  to  us  of  this  return.  It  would  be  just  to  impose  on 
American  cotton,  to  promote  its  growth  in  India,  the  same  duty 
they  imposed  on  our  iron  to  promote  its  manufacture  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  know  well  we  shall  not  do  this.  They  inflict  this 
injustice  upon  us  in  the  firm  reliance  that  we  shall  not  retaliate, 
just  as  it  is  perpetrated  on  the  South  in  the  belief  that  they  are 
helplessly  fast  in  the  Union. 

The  next  measure  taken  by  the  North  was  that  of  blockading 
the  Southern  ports,  an  act  of  mere  arbitrary  power;  for  no  one 
will  pretend  that  the  Constitution  confers  any  such  power  on 
the  government,  or  that  the  law  of  the  United  States  permits 
this  jiunishment  for  treason.  It  is  directly  opposed  to  the  posi- 
tion taken  by  themselves  recently '  when  the  King  of  Naples 
blockaded  rebellious  ports.     It  may  be  expedient  to  copy  the 

■■"■It  has  been  aliserved  tint  ailmittiiig  all  this  liistary,  still  that  it  tells  as  much 
against  the  South  ;is  the  North.  Why  shiuld  it  not?  It  is  not  the  object  of  this 
work  to  make  statements  or  withliolii  them  because  they  tell  for  or  against  either 
section.  Here  the  argument  is  that  we  are  under  no  obligation  to  the  Union,  to 
the  conjunction  of  North  and  South  heretofore  existing.  This  argument  would 
have  no  force  whatever  unless  the  evidence  did  embrace  both  parties,  for  it  could 
not  be  addressed  to  a  Union  if  it  applied  only  to  one.  None  but  a  partisan  could 
think  or  assert  that  the  South  does  not  fully  merit  its  share  of  blame  in  ihepast 
history  of  tlio  United  States.  We  hold  that  the  Union  has  been  injurious  to  the 
political  princyde  of  both  sections  of  the  whole  people,  and  not  of  a  part  only. 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  203 

Neapolitan  king,  but  it  cannot  be  right  to  assert  principles  and 
reverse  them  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  hour.  Nor  was  it 
unknown  at  Washington  how  exceedingly  large  are  the  num- 
bers in  this  country  whose  industry  is  based  on  cotton,  and  who 
depend  upon  it  for  daily  bread.  They  could  not  be  ignorant 
that  a  campaign,  if  victorious,  would  render  a  blockade  unnec- 
essary, and  that  if  unsuccessful  it  would  be  futile.  Yfet  for  the 
sake  of  this  means  of  inflicting  mere  injury  and  annoyance, 
thej"  do  not  scruple  to  jeopardize  the  existence  of  some  millions 
of  our  people. 

It.was  well  known  at  Washington  that  the  South  would  retal- 
iate by  privateering.  Upon  this  we  adopted  the  coui-se  of  all 
imaginable  the  most  beneficial  to  the  North,  for  unless  we  had 
acknowledged  the  Southerners  as  belligereuts  we  must  have 
disputed  the  blockade.  Yet  because  it  did  not  chime  in  with 
the  humor  of  the  moment  we  were  visited  with  torrents  of  threats 
and  abuse — for  what?  Because  we  were  not  <lesij"ous  to  hang 
certain  American  citizens,  in  order  tot-f»lease  other  American 
citizens.  When  the  colonies  revolted  against  us  one  of  their 
first  steps  was  to  fit  out  privateers.  This  occurred  before  they 
claimed  their  independence,  while  they  still  admitted  them- 
selves to  be  subjects.  We  captured  several  but  hung  none  as 
pirates,  nor  did  our  newspapers  urge  it.  Yet  now  when  tlfts 
people  of  the  South  do  precisely  what  the  Northerners  did  — 
and  what  they  are  glorified  for  having  done  —  we  are  fiercely 
denounced  because  we  will  not  adopt  measures  for  the  conven- 
ience of  others,  which  we  disdained  when  our  own  empire  was 
at  stake. 

Besides,  the  whole  law  of  the  Union  is  in  accordance  with  the 
course  we  pursued.  In  the  judgments  of  the  Supri-me  court, 
the  United  States  vs.  Palmer,  Mr.  Justice  Johnson  ruled  thus  : 
"  When  open  war  exists  between  a  nation  and  its  subjects,  the 
subjects  of  the  revolted  country  are  no  more  liable  to  be  pun- 
ished as  pirates  than  the  subjects  who  adhere  to  their  allegiance." 
According  to  this,  the  higiiest  American  autliority,  we  had  equal 
right  to  treat  the  Northerners  as  pirates  as  the  Southerners.  In 
183G  tlie  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  gave  this  de- 
cision in  the  case  of  a  Texan  privateer:   "When  a  civil  war 


204  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

breaks  out  in  a  foreign  nation  and  a  part  of  suoli  nation  erects  a 
separate  government,  and  the  United  States,  though  they  do  not 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  new  government,  do  recog- 
nize tlie  existence  of  a  civil  war  between  the  contending  parties, 
our  courts  uniformly  regard  each  party  as  a  belligerent  nation  in 
regard  to  acts  done  in  right  of  war,  and  the  parties  concerned 
are  not  treated  as  pirates."  The  Northern  party,  in  fact,  de- 
manded that  we  should  recognize  a  state  of  war  by  admitting 
their  blockade,  and  at  the  same  time  deny  a  state  of  war  by 
treating  Soutbern  vessels  as  pirates. 

Thus,  there  appears  little  prospect  of  amendment  under  the 
altered  rule  of  the  Union.  Let  any  dispassionate  American 
reflect  oh.  this  history,  and  ask  himself  the  question,  whether,  if 
his  own  <'Ountry  had  been  thus  treated  for  years  by  another 
power,  there  would  have  been  created  in  his  mind  feelings  of 
respect  or  of  sympathy  for  that  government,  or  any  ardent 
desire  for  its  continuance  ?  There  are  some  in  this  country  who 
think  the  matter  has  already  lasted  too  long  and  gone  too  far, 
and  this  feeling  is  general  on  the  Continent.  No  one  can  enter 
into  conversation  on  the  subject  in  Germany  Avithout  being  told 
tliat  this  country  will  submit  to  any  exaction  and  endure  any 
affront  at  the  hands  of  the  United  States,  from  fear  of  disturb- 
Pttice  to  trade.  A  sense  of  meanness  is  attached  to  this  which 
none  can  witness  without  pain.  Whether  this  be  merited  or  not, 
one  thing  is  clear,  that  there  results  from  the  history  narrated 
no  ground  for  us  to  desire  a  continuance  of  the  system  which 
has  produced  such  fruits  to  ourselves,  and  assuredly  no  obliga- 
tion of  any  kind  to  any  party  in  the  United  States. 

The  imputation  has  indeed  been  thrown  out  in  advance  that 
if  we  consider  any  interests  of  our  own  in  the  subject  we  shall 
prove  that  cotton  is  really  king  over  us.  Those  who  have  ex- 
pressed opinions  differing  from  the  present  views  of  the  North, 
are  said  to  be  ready  to  sacrifice  any  principle  from  sordid 
motives.  This  view  is  so  generally  adopted  that  it  raises  the 
doubt  whether  there  are  not  many  who  are  incapable  of  con- 
ceiving that  opinions  may  be  formed  on  other  than  mercenary 
grounds.  Had  there  been  some  great  principle  at  stake  we- 
should  probably  have  sacrificed  cotton  no\y  as  cheerfully  as  we 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  1^05 

sacrificed  sugar  before.  No  such  prluciple  originated  the  war, 
and  it  cannot  be  permitted  to  enlist  it  now  at  convenience, 
to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  day.  It  is  possible  we  may  be  a 
sordid  people  without  any  consciousness  of  it,  liaving  no  power 
to  see  ourselves;  but  there  are  certain  historical  facts  of  wliieh  it 
may  be  permissible  to  remind  those  who  cast  this  imj)utation. 

When  Spain  depended  for  years  on  our  will  and  power  for  . 
her  national  existence,  she  could  not  have  refused  the  island  of 
Cuba  or  the  fairest  of  her  colonies  in  small  requital  of  such 
a  debt.  When  Portugal  was  still  more  helplessly  dependent  — 
how  easy  to  have  accepted  the  enchanting  island  of  Madeira  ! 
Sicily,  the  ancient  granary  of  Home,  was  for  a  long  period  in  our 
possession ;  no  one  will  suppose  that  the  King  of  Naples  had 
strength  to  retake  it.  When  we  drove  the  French  out  of  Egypt 
who  could  have  prevented  our  retaining  for  ourselves  that  stcj)- 
ping  stone  to  India  ?  Java  was  ours,  the  wealthiest  island  of 
the  East  —  there  was  no  might  in  Holland  that  could  have  com- 
manded us  to  leave  it.  When  we  held  the  months  of  the  Eu- 
phrates and  the  Tigris,  what  power  could  have  wrested  from  our 
hold  the  command  of  those  classic  streams  ?  When  India  lay 
trembling  for  her  mutiny,  our  i-evenge  was  not  to  denude  of 
provinces,  but  to  present  to  her  pri rices  the  right  of  regal  adop- 
tion. Nankin  was  ours,  commanding  that  great  central  plain 
which  contains  sixfold  the  population  of  the  United  States — no 
power  could  have  ejected  us  against  our  will.  For  how  long 
have  we  sailed,  fleets  and  lavished  gold  and  given  precious  lives 
in  hope  to  save  from  bondage  fellow-men  so  poor  they  cannot 
even -thank  us!  These  are  not  words  or  sneers;  they  are  facts 
that  are  the  footprints  of  the  race  in  every  cjuarter  gf  the  globe, 
and  not  those  of  men  who  were  crawling  in  a  sordid  spirit. 

Since,  then,  it  is  clear  that  we  can  find  in  this  contest  neither 
principle  to  be  respected  nor  obligation  to  be  remembered,  it 
remains  justly  open  to  consider  what  may  be  the  interest  of  this 
country  in  the  case.  W^e  have,  as  we  have  been  told,  a  "natural 
ally,"  but  the  selection  made  was  not  a  happy  one.  The  North- 
ern section  of  the  Union  is  the  natural  competitor  and  sclf- 
appo"nted  antagonist  of  this  countiy;  tlie  Southern  portion  its 
natural  all}-. 


20G  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

No  part  of  the  world  can  be  found  more  admirably  placed  for 
exchanging  with  this  country  the  products  of  industry,  to  mutual 
advantage,  than  the  Southern  states  of  the  Union.  Producing 
in  abundance  the  material  we  chiefly  require,  their  climate  and 
the  habits  of  the  people  indispose  them  to  manufactures,  and 
leave  to  be  purchased  precisely  the  commodities  we  have  to  sell. 
They  have  neither  the  means  nor  the  desire  to  enter  into  rivalry 
with  us.  Commercially  they  oifer  more  than  the  capabilities  of 
another  India,  within  a  fortnight's  distance  from  our  shores. 
The  capacity  of  a  Southern  trade,  when  freed  from  restrictions, 
may  be  estimated  most  correctly  by  comparison.  The  condition 
of  those  states  resembles  that  of  Australia,  both  non-manufactur- 
ing countries,  with  the  command  of  ample  productions  to  oifer 
in  exchange  for  the  imports  they  require.  As  a  means  of  pay- 
ment, cotton  is  equal  to  wool,  or  to  gold. 

Our  exports  to  the  Australian  colonies  amounted  in  each  of 
the  years  1858  and  1859  to  twelve  millions.  Estimating  their 
population  at  1,200,000  this  would  give  precisely  £lO  per  head 
of  population.  The  numbers  in  the  slave  states  by  the  last 
census  are  rather  more  than  twelve  millions,  and  assuming  that 
the  four  millions  of  negroes  would  require  nothing  imported  from 
this  country,  there  would  remain  eight  millions  of  consumers. 

Our  exports  to  the  Union  have  averaged  of  late  years  twenty 
millions;  the  trade  is  a  stationary  one  in  amount,  with  a  constant 
tendency  to  alter,  to  our  disadvantage,  in  the  character  of  the 
articles  composing  it.  This  amount  gives  but  13s.  per  head  of 
the  population  of  the  Union,  a  contrast  with  that  of  some  other 
countries  by  no  means  unintelligible.  The  North  controls  the 
commerce  of  the  country,  and  its  policy  is  to  exclude  our  manu- 
factures as  far  as  possible,  in  order  to  promote  'its  own  and 
monopolize  the  Southern  trade.  The  people  of  the  North, 
whether  manufacturers  or  ship-owners,  regard  us  as  rivals  and 
competitors,  to  be  held  back  and  cramped  by  all  possible  means. 
They  possess  the  same  elements  as  ourselves,  coal,  metals,  ships, 
an  aptitude  for  machinery,  energy,  and  industry,  while  the  early 
obstacles  of  deficient  capital  and  scanty  labor  are  rapidly  dis- 
appearing. For  many  years  they  have  competed  with  us  in  some 
manufactures  in  foreign  mai'kets,  and  their  peculiar  skill  in  the 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  "  207 

contrivance  of  labor-saving  machinery  daily  increases  the  num- 
ber of  articles  they  produce  cheaper  than  ourselves. 

Thus,  to  one  part  of  the  world  our  exports  are  at  the  rate  of 
£10  per  head,  while  those  to  the  Union  anioiuit  but  to  13s.  i)er 
head.  Between  these  extremes  what  would  be  the  natural  posi- 
tion of  the  Southern  trade,  if  unfettered  by  restrictions  ?  It  is 
clear  that  if  the  slave  states  were  to  import  from  us  at  only  half 
the  Australian  rate  they  would  then  require  double  the  amount 
of  our  existing  exports  to  the  entire  Union.  Have  they  the 
capabilities  for  a  trade  of  this  magnitude '? 

The  exports  of  the  Southern  states  to  foreign  countries  were  in 
1860  $220,000,000,  that  of  cotton  exported  to  the  North  $38,000,- 
000 ;  and  estimating  those  of  other  products,  sugar,  tobacco,  rice, 
hemp,  lead,  etc.,  also  exported  to  the  North  at  $40,000,000,  tliis 
would  give  a  total  export  of  above  £60,000,000.*  The  value  of 
agricultural  products  imported  from  the  North  is  greatly  over 
estimated  by  those  who  take  their  impressions  from  the  traffic  on 
the  Mississijjpi,  forgetting  how  large  is  the  proportion  from  the 
border  slave  states.  Still  there  is  a  large  import  of  farm  prod- 
ucts from  the  free  states.  Flour  passes  both  ways ;  in  so  vast  a 
country  the  cost  of  transport  governs  local  inter(5sts  and  leads  to 
a  reciprocating  movement  in  some  commodities.  Assuming  the 
imports  of  farm  products  from  the  North  and  of  foreign  manu- 
factures and  products  other  than  our  own  to  reach  togctlicr 
£20,000,000,  which  is  beyond  our  own  calculations,  there  would 
remain  £40,000,000  to  expend  in  manufactures  such  as  we  pro- 
duce. 

Of  the  articles  we  export  to  the  United  States,  about  a  third 

*  By  .1  report  of  the  Secretary  to  tlie  Treasury,  tlie  exports  of  the  United  States 
for  the  year  ending  30th  Juno.  ISOO.  were  $373,000,000.  of  which  the  products  of 
the  South  comprised  $253,000,000,  and  those  of  the  North  $120.000,0(X)  only.  Uy 
tlio  Census  Kcport  from  1850,  tlie  last  yot  olitainahle,  the  number  of  live  stock  w.is 
larger  in  the  slave  than  in  the  free  states,  and  the  value  of  grain,  farm,  and  garden  , 
produce  of  the  two  sections  equal,  while  the  latter  was  produced,  in  the  case  of 
the  South,  by  9  500.000  people  against  13  500.000  in  the  North.  Ilonce  will  bo 
apparent  the  absurdity  of  representing  the  Southern  states  as  requiring  food  from 
the  Northern,  when,  in  the  former,  each  two  jiersons  pro«lucc  as  much  as  three  in 
the  North.  The  poverty  attributed  to  the  South  contrasts  also  strangely  with  the 
above  fact,  that  tho  exports  of  their  products  in  1860  were  double  those  of  the 
North  in  value. 


208  THK    AMERICAN    UNION. 

is  composed  of  raw  materials  for  Northern  manufactures,  such  as 
coal,  soda  ash,  etc.,  or  of  others  such  as  metals,  to  pass  through 
a  further  stage  of  manufacture.  Dividing  the  remainder  in 
the  ratio  of  population,  we  have  £5,000,000  only  as  the  amount 
at  present  taken  by  the  Southern  states.  This  would  leave 
£3.5,000,000  as  the  amolint  of  manufactures  to  be  purchased  by 
them  from  the  North ;  or,  in  other  words,  seven  times  the  amount 
they  are  permitted  to  obtain  from  this  country. 

Again,  the  Northerners  are  the  ship-owners  of  the  Union — our 
competitors  on  the  seas.  The  people  of  the  South,  with  abun- 
dant employment  for  tonnage,  have  no  aptitude  for  nautical 
affairs,  nor  desire  to  compete  with  our  flag.  One'  of  the  first 
measures  jaf  their  new  government  was  to  ordain  freedom  of 
navigation.  We  have  seen  what  amount  of  justice  toward  this 
country  was  exhibited  by  the  North  in  the  Morrill  tariff;  another 
instance  occurs  in  its  navigation  laws.  We  admit  the  ships  of 
the  Union  to  our  coasting  and  colonial  trade,  where  they  enjoy 
every  advantage  in  common  with  ourselves,  and  displace  no 
inconsiderable  amount  of  our  own  tonnage.  In  return,  they  ex- 
clude us  from  the  great  trade  between  the  Atlantic  ports,  and 
from  that  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  on  the  pretext  ■ 
of  terming  a  voyage  of  fourteen  thousand  miles  a  coasting  trade. 

The  literature  of  the  Union  is  also  exclusively  Northern,  and  -^ 
here  we  have  encountered  a  constant  refusal  of  international  ^ 
copyrigiit.  Although  our  authors  might  plead  that  up  to  a  recent  ' 
date  they  had  been  the  instructors,  and  in  so  ftir  the  benefactors  of 
America — this  gives  no  concern.  Their  thoughts — in  which  the 
inherent  right  of  man's  ownership  is  clearly  as  great  as  in  that 
of  property  he  may  never  have  seen — these  are  pirated  at  once. 
The  Northerners  are  also  the  inventors  and  patentees  of  the 
Union.  On  this  subject  we  find  the  following  passage  in  De 
Bow's  "Industrial  Resources:"  "The  patentee,  if  a  citizen  or  a 
resident  alien,  pays  into  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners  for  his 
patent  $30.  If  a  foreigner,  resident  abroad,  the  tax  is  $300,  but 
a  Britlsli  subject  must  pay  the  sum  of  $500.  The  great  dis- 
tinction in  the  last  case  shows  clearly  from  what  quarter  the 
severest  competition  with  our  own  arts  was  expected."  It  seems 
to  show  more  than  this  —  a  remarkable  injustice  to  that  British 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  209 

subject,  who  might  have  no  reason  to  complain  that  he  was 
charged  more  tlian  sixteen  times  as  much  as  a  resident,  but  who 
certainly  may  complain  that  he  should  be  charged  nearly  seventy 
per  cent,  more  than  a  Frenchman  or  other  foreigner. 

Thus  the  more  the  subject  is  investigated  the  plainer  it  be- 
comes that  we  have  received  from  the  Union  as  little  justice  in 
affairs  of  commerce  as  consideration  in  general  politics.  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  after  independence  was  achieved  it 
should  ever  have  been  adopted  as  the  general  policy  to  create  a 
feeling  of  nationality  by  the  means  of  instilling  hatred  of  this 
country.  In  many  minds  all  this  has  passed  away.  There  are 
at  the  present  day  nnmliers  of  Americans  who  esteem  our  insti- 
tutions, although  they  prefer  their  own.  There  is  a  strong  ten- 
dency in  the  literary  mind  of  America  to  draw  closer  to  this 
country ;  these  are,  however,  but  a  handful  to  the  multitude,  nor 
is  their  voice  ever  heard  in  directing  the  policy  of  the  Union. 
The  mind  may  be  with  us,  but  the  mass  is  not — the  power  is  not 
— the  policy  is  not. 

Reverting  to  the  trade  of  the  Southern  states,  it  seems  strange 
that  a,  people  whose  commerce  is  so  extended  as  to  reach  ex- 
ports of  £60,000,000,  should  not  be  permitted  to  regulate  for 
themselves  so  vast  a  trade.  How  many  of  the  kingdoms  of 
I<)urope  might  be  added  together  without  equalling  the  sum. 
Not  less  strange  is  it  that  a  trade  of  such  enormous  magnitude 
should  be  so  fettered  as  only  to  permit  an  eighth  part  of  the 
manufactures  required  to  be  received  from  ourselves.  When 
the  colonies  rebelled  their  exports  were  not  as  many  shillings  as 
these  are  pounds,  yet  they  deemed  themselves  of  sulHcient  im- 
portance to  make  their  own  fiscal  regulations.  Why  the  same 
rule  should  not  apply 'in  a  case  so  nmch  stronger,  is  not  apparent. 
This,  however,  is  very  apparent,  that  the  industrial  interests  of 
this  country  would  be  benefited  in  the  highest  degree  by  any 
event  that  should  terminate  the  policy  of  exclusion  so  long  prac- 
tised against  us,  and  which,  under  the  unrestricted  rule  of  the 
present  protectionist  party,  is  about  to  be  converted  into  a  prac- 
tical prohibition  of  all  our  leading  manufactures. 

We  have  seen  that  any  rustoration  of  the  Union  by  force  is 
liardhy  to  be  considered  a  possiliility  ;  yet  it  may  be  well  to  con- 
18 


210  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

sider  the  probable  political  effects  of  that  event  if  it  should  be 
accomplished.  There  would  at  once  be  a  prevailing  desire  to 
obliterate  painful  recollections  and  win  back  the  good  will  of  the 
South.  What  bribe  should  be  spared  for  an  object  of  such  im- 
portance? Spain  has  given  grave  offence;  the  Monroe  doctrine 
may  be  easily  extended  to  St.  Domingo.  Cuba  would  be  a  very 
convenient  peace-offering  —  gratifying  to  the  ambition  of  all  — 
something  to  divert  the  thoughts  from  brooding  on  the  debt  in- 
curred. The  extension  of  slavery  would  probably  be  one  of  the 
first  fruits  of  a  restored  Union ;  and  this  in  addition  to  various 
measures  for  its  increased  protection.  The  Abolitionists  are  now 
in  favor,  they  are  useful,  they  give  an  impetus,  they  work  in  the 
common  direction ;  but  the  moment  they  ceased  to  be  needed 
they  would  be  cast  aside  and  thrust  back  to  the  position  they 
have  hitherto  occupied  in  the  esteem  of  Northern  politicians. 

A  still  more  important  consequence  would  be  far  from  improb- 
able. There  would  be  within  the  Union  five  hundred  thousand 
men  to  disband  and  cast  adrift.  The  republic,  as  we  know,  had 
a  narrow  escape  from  destruction,  when  at  the  end  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  the  small  force  then  existing  was  disbanded.  On 
reflection  there  will  appear  a  most  formidable  danger  in  sud- 
denly turning  loose  upon  the  country  half  a  million  of  armed 
men,  part  elated  with  victory,  part  embittered  with  defeat.  For 
some  of  these  employment  would  be  desirable.  The  conquest  of 
Canada  has  been  twice  seriously  attempted,  and  the  fact  is  re- 
markable that  it  should  have  been  one  of  the  first  efforts  of  the 
revolted  colonies.  The  desire  for  its  possession  rarely  seems  to 
have  been  long  absent,  and  but  a  few  months  ago  was  plainly 
expressed  by  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  Northern  government. 
When  a  victory  was  recently  supposed  to  be  won,  the  first 
thought  of  triumphant  ardor  seems  to  have  been  to  invade  Can- 
ada. The  Western  states  after  rescuing  the  Mississippi,  would 
reassert  the  inconvenience  of  leaving  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the 
hands  of  a  foreign  power.  Those  who  appear  to  shudder  at  the 
idea  of  war  may  well  consider  that  it  would  probably  be  the 
very  first  result  of  a  triumphant  restoration  of  the  Union. 

Its  effect  on  the  politics  of  the  country  may  readily  be  imag- 
ined.    Already  the  machinery  of  government  has  been  several 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  211 

times  on  the  point  of  arriving  at  a  dead  stop.  In  the  session  of 
1859,  no  less  than  forty-four  ballots  were  required  before  a 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  could  be  chosen,  legis- 
lative action  remaining  in  suspense.  In  1855,  nine  weeks  were 
wasted  in  the  unseemly  spectacle  of  party  contests  for  the 
speakership.  And  if  this  has  already  occurred,  what  is  likely  to 
be  the  working  of  the  machine  when  part  of  the  members  arc 
inflamed  with  victory  and  the  rest  actuated  by  former  hatred 
now  rendered  more  intense  by  the  humiliation  of  defeat. 

A  question  would  immediately  present  itself,  calculated  to 
rouse  animosity  to  the  highest  pitch.  Afler  conquering  the 
South,  it  would  be  infatuation  to  withdraw  the  troops  entirely, 
and  leave  behind  the  arms  an(|Runitions  of  the  defeated  party. 
All  history  teaches  how  arduous  is  the  task  of  extiuguishing  the 
last  embers  of  civil  war — the  pertinacity  with  which  when 
trampled  down  they  continue  to  smoulder  and  struggle  to  revive. 
The  craving  for  revenge  becomes  in  many  minds  a  stronger  stim- 
ulus than  the  first  impulse  to  action,  and  thos<j  are  seldom  want- 
ing who  have  suffered  enough  in  fortunes  or  affections  to  feel  the 
lull  ]X)wej"  of  this  passion.  Ordinary  prudencte  would  require 
that  tlie  country  sliould  be  disarmed  and  held  down  by  garrisons, 
till  all  this  had  leisure  slowly  to  disappear.  The  cost  of  such 
garrisons  would  be  enormous ;  the  West  would  be  impatient  of 
taxation  for  such  an  object  —  customs  duties  could  yield  no  sur- 
j)lus  to  meet  it,  and  but  one  course  would  remain  —  that  the 
South  should  defray  the  expenditure  resulting  from  its  own  act. 
Here,  then,  high-spirited  men,  stung  with  humiliation,  would  be 
a,ssemblcd  in  Congress  to  discuss  and  vote  the  taxing  of  them- 
selves, to  pay  for  their  own  subjugation,  and  to  support  the  gar- 
risons required  to  maintain  their  own  subjection. 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  even  were  it  possible  to  effect 
the  present  object  of  the  North  such  a  victory  would  prove  in 
the  end  more  disastrous  than  defeat.  It  would  probably  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  fcjreign  war  —  free  institutions  would  cease  to  be 
jiracticable  —  a  military  hero  would  take,  as  a  dictator,  the  seat 
that  Washington  filled  as  Father  of  the  country — the  former  evils 
incidental  to  the  Union  would  return  with  redoubled  force — and 


212  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

the  prospect  of  the  future  would  be  that  of  a  fresh  outbreak  at 
no  distant  period,  to  repeat  all  the  present  calamities. 

AVhat,  tjien,  will  be  the  probable  results  of  a  separation  into 
two  powers  ?  To  those  great  advantages  it  would  afford  to  the 
South  which  may  be  inferi-ed  from  the  previous  inquii-ies  there 
would  be  added  some  collateral  benefits.  Hitherto  the  South, 
practically,  has  been  deprived  of  a  metropolis  —  thrown  back  to 
the  outskirts  of  civilization  as  a  huge  assemblage  of  limbs  with- 
out a  head.  The  existence  of  a  distinct  metropolis  of  its  own 
would  draw  together  men  of  eminence  in  science  and  art — form 
a  literary  society  —  concentrate  the  feeble  rays  of  scattered  in- 
telligence—  and  act  as  a  centre  from  which  would  radiate  a 
refining  influence  of  learning  a«5  taste. 

The  change  would  also  lead  to  a  great  extension  of  minor 
manufactures  existing  at  present  on  a  comparatively  narrow 
scale.  This  would  afford  that  employment  to  the  poorer  white 
class  so  deplorably  needed.  But  the  great  and  certain  advan- 
tages are  those  which  would  come  at  once  into  force.  The 
people  of  the  South  would  cease  to  be  tributary.  The  cost  of 
their  government  would  be  expended  on  their  own  soil.  They 
would  be  liberated  from  the  trammels  now  imposed  on  their  in- 
dustry. They  would  escape  from  a  sense  of  injustice.  It  would 
no  longer  be  necessary  to  struggle  for  territory  or  plunge  into 
barbarism  in  order  to  maintain  the  balance  of  political  power. 
Slavery,  ceasing  to  be  an  affair  of  embittered  politics,  would 
come  .within  the  reach  of  reason's  voice,  and  stand  out  face  to 
face  with  that  great  power — public  opinion  —  against  which  it 
cannot  ultimately  prevail. 

To  the  Northern  power,  though  there  might  be  no  apparent 
gain,  there  would  not  be  less  real  advantage.  Before  consider- 
ing the  nature  and  extent  of  this,  it  may  be  well  to  weigh  the 
evils  of  a  separation  which  the  Unionists  hold  to  be  insuperable. 
Unquestionably  there  will  be  serious  inconveniences,  for  what 
change,  however  beneficial,  can  be  effected  that  will  injure  no 
interest  or  be  liable  to  no  drawback  ?  But  the  evils  commonly 
alleged  appear  greatly  exaggerated  by  excited  apprehensions. 
It  has  been  contended  that  to  live  in  peace  will  be  impossible, 
with  only  a  river,  the  Ohio,  as  the  boundary  between  two  indc- 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  218 

pendent  powers.  But  between  the  United  States  and  Canada 
the  boundary  is  for  some  <listance  simply  an  imaginary  air  line ; 
from  this  no  difficulty  ensues. 

Again,  we  hear  in  strong  terms  that  the  Western  states  will 
never  permit  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  the  outlet  of  their 
products,  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  a  foreign  power.  But  the 
Western  states  will  soon  be  reconciled  to  that  wliich  they  find  it 
impossible  to  avoid,  nor  have  they  any  difficulty  in  permitting 
this  in  another  direction.  The  St.  Lawrence  is  the  outlet  of  the 
greater  part  of  that  region,  and  the  growth  of  population  in 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Michigan,  and  around  the  border  of  the 
lakes,  render  this  more  prominent  every  ytvvr.  Yet  the  posses- 
sion of  that  river  by  a  foreign  power  has  neither  checked  their 
progress  nor  disturbed  their  peace.  And  how  many  separate 
powei's  are  there  on  tlie  lliiine,  with  its  outlet  in  Holland — how 
many  on  the  Danube,  with  its  mouths  in  the  hands  of  Turkey  ? 
The  only  force  in  the  objection  lies  in  the  supposition  by  the 
Americans  themselves,  that  they  are  unable  to  live  in  harmony 
under  the  same  conditions  as  the  people  of  Europe.  If  this  be 
so  the  cure  should  be,  not  in  perpetuating  such  a  condition,  but 
in  removing  tlie  causes  that  have  produced  this  effect  on  the 
national  character. 

It  is  true  that  the  severance  of  the  Southern  states  may 
diminish  for  a  time  the  commerce  of  some  districts,  but  in  a  few 
years — but  a  moment  in  tiie  lifetime  of  a  nation — that  trade  will 
undoubtedly  become  greater  than  before.  No  political  change 
will  bar  out  enterprise  and  capital  from  obtaining  the  lion's 
.share.  To  end  the  exploded  system  of  protection  would  check 
for  a  time  the  growth  of  some  branches  of  industry  ;  but  nothing 
can  prevent  the  North  from  becoming  a  great  ii^nufacturing 
power  —  eventually,  perhaps,  the  greatest  of  industrial  powers. 
Manufactures  are  a  question  of"  coal  and  energy.  The  Northern 
states  have  more  coal  in  one  of  many  ficlils  than  exists  in  the 
whole  of  Europe  —  and  of  energy  a,^suredly  there  is  no  lack. 
The  change  would  be  simply  this  —  progress  would  be  retarded 
for  a  time — for  a  few  years — to  be  more  sun^  and  sound  through- 
out all  the  future  history  of  the  nation. 

An<l  against  this  there  would  be  a  political  result  of  the  change 


214  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

that  appears  of  inestimable  value.  The  Northerner  has  been 
practically  excluded  from  the  rule  of  his  own  country.  Through 
the  Southern  party  alliance  in  many  most  important  districts 
the  foreign  element  had  come  to  have  the  casting  vote,  the  decid- 
ing political  power.  This  in  New  York  is  with  the  Irish,  in 
Pennsylvania  with  the  Germans.  Large  regions  in  the  West 
are  becoming  altogether  foreign.  Can  this  be  a  desirable  condi- 
tion in  which  to  maintain  the  political  status  of  any  country  ? 
It  seems  to  conflict  sorely  with  that  spirit  of  nationality  —  so  ve- 
hement in  words,  and  apparently  so  indiflferent  to  facts. 

This  overgrown  foreign  element  has  exercised  a  most  injurious 
influence  in  the  North  in  several  directions.  What  is  there  so 
humiliating  to  the  United  States,  or  so  baneful  to  its  people,  as 
the  condition  into  which  its  press  has  fallen  ?  But  the  most 
violent  of  these  papers — those  which  delude  the  popular  mind 
and  sully  the  national  character  —  are  most  of  them  conducted 
by  foreigners,  frequently  men  who  in  their  own  countries  would 
assuredly  not  have  been  selected  as  popular  instructors.  The 
American  is  acutely  sensitive  to  a  word  of  criticism  expressed  by 
a  foreigner ;  yet  he  permits  shoals  of  the  lowest  order  of  foreign- 
ers to  influence  the  press  of  the  country,  and  become  the  politi- 
cal instructors  of  his  people. 

The  great  evil  which  is  apprehended  by  the  North  as  the 
result  of  a  separation  is  undoubtedly  the  loss  of  dominion.  It 
has  been  urged  that  no  reasoning  would  ever  satisfy  an  English- 
man that  it  might  be  well  to  part  with  India  or  the  other  pos- 
sessions of  the  empire,  and  thus  come  within  the  dimensions  of  a 
third-rate  power.  But  the  argument,  like  so  many  others  we 
have  examined,  although  specious,  is  not  applicable  to  the  facta. 
The  British  islands  are  small,  densely  peopled ;  the  Northern 
states  are  vast,  and  to  this  day,  to  a  large  extent,  are  rather 
occupied  than  inhabited.  The  one  needs  room  for  its  people, 
the  other  people  for  its  space.  The  man  who  owns  a  great  man- 
sion- of  which  half  the  rooms  are  empty,  and  who  inhabits  but  a 
corner,  can  hardly  be  compared  with  another  whose  family  has 
grown  too  large  for  his  modest  dwelling.  If  England,  like  the 
Northern  states,  bad  been  three  thousand  miles  across,  we  should 
have  made  our  India  at  home. 


GENERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  215 

Let  us,  indeed,  see  wliat  would  still  be  the  extent  of  the 
Northern  power,  assuming  that  the  whole  of  the  slave  states 
depart,  and  should  even  take  with  them  the  territories  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  in  which  slavery  exists.  There  are  now 
nineteen  free  states,  of  which  the  area  is  993,684  square  miles, 
and  there  are  six  territories,  which,  excluding  those  named, 
comprise  an  area  of  1,168,000  miles.  Thus  the  total  magnitude 
of  the  Northern  power  would  be  2,161,684  square  miles.  Now 
the  combined  dimensions  of  four  of  the  five  great  European 
powers  arc  together  625,000  square  miles.  Thus  the  Northern 
territory  would  be  three  times  as  large  as  that  of  four  of  the 
great  powers  of  the  world  together. 

There  are  eight  kingdoms  of  Europe  of  which  the  population 
in  1850  was  twenty  millions,  the  same  as  that  of  the  Northern 
states.  Of  these  the  combined  area  is  120,000  square  miles. 
Hence  the  domain  of  the  Northern  power  would  be  eighteen 
times  as  large  as  that  of  eight  European  kingdoms  joined  to- 
gether. Again,  France  is  not  considered  a  small  country,  and 
it  would  be  twelve  times  as  large  as  France.  This  seems  there- 
fore a  disordered  appetite  for  mere  space,  and  not  a  reasonable 
desire  for  that  degree  of  magnitude  which  an  independent  power 
ought  really  to  possess. 

There  appears  an  illu?!tration  in  tliis  of  the  views  already  ex- 
pressed, how  far  tlie  Union  has  distorted  the  standard  of  dimen- 
sion. It  seems  to  have  thrown  a  thick  mist  over  the  public 
mind,  obscuring  all  realities.  Any  American  will  admit  that 
the  dimensions  of  France  are  ample  for  a  great  power,  yet  as  a 
Unionist  he  ])lunges  into  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  because  his 
country  with  half  the  population  of  France  would  be  reduced  to 
twelve  times  tlie  size.  These  are  dreams  of  a  nation's  youth. 
How  few  have  not  harl  to  put  away  early  dreams  and  narrow 
thought  to  less  alluring  realities ! 

Was  there  in  this  sufficient  cause  that  men  should  proceed  to 
destroy  one  other  ?  At  the  best,  when  accepted  as  a  sad  and 
st-ern  necessity,  war  is  but  a  foini  of  Icgalizctl  and  organized 
murder.  At  the  best  it  is  pitiable  to  see  the  human  mind  con- 
triving how  most  eflectually  to  destroy  our  fellow-man.  But 
civil  war,  between  th.ose  of  the  same  tongue,  of  the  same  lin- 


216  THE    AMERICAN    UiMON. 

♦ 

eage,  nay,  often  of  the  same  household,  is  the  darkest  depth  of 
national  crime.  Nor  is  it  less  deplorable  at  the  hands  of  those 
who  profess  to  be  disciples  of  Him  who  bid  his  follower  to  put  up 
his  sword  into  its  sheath,  and  taught  that  the  inheritance  of  the 
earth  is  to  the  meek.  Nor  is  it  less  to  be  condemned  when  they 
are  the  sons  of  rebels,  who  are  so  bitterly  indignant  at  rebellion 
—  the  worshippers  of  independence,  who  so  detest  it  when 
claimed  by  other  voices  than  their  own.  Lamentable  is  the 
judgment  which  affirms  tiiat  after  the  rebellion  is.  crushed  the 
Union  shall  issue  forth  "unchangeable  arid  unchanged."  A 
skilful  workman  may  repair  some  broken  vase  —  the  pieces  may 
be  cunningly  arranged  —  spread  over  with  a  new  enamel.  But 
the  value  is  gone.  There  is  now  a  thing  of  cemented  fragments 
— its  worth  in  the  power  to  deceive.  When  a  union  of  strong 
men  is  broken,  no  workman's  skill  can  mend  it.  There  is  no 
virtue  in  the  shedding  of  human  blood  that  will  cement  that 
Union  again. 

In  truth,  no  real  Union  has  existed  in  America.  Such  can 
alone  be  formed  of  elements  that  will  combine  and  coalesce ; 
when  discordant  and  repulsive  there  may  be  an  aggregation — a 
Union  there  cannot  be.  Oil  and  water  may  be  commingled", 
but  they  cannot  be  united.  Mutual  interests  may  form  a 
union  —  reciprocal  aifection  —  sympathetic  feeling  —  some  gi'eat 
and  common  object  of  desire  or  dread.  When  these  have  no 
existence,  but  in  their  place  are  incompatibility  and  repug- 
nance —  men  may  be  connected  by  the  letter  of  the  law  or 
fettered  by  resistless  force  —  but  to  call  this  a  union  is  to  deny 
the  principle  and  the  essence,  and  delude  ourselves  with  the 
sound  of  a  name. 

And  this  loss  of  territory,  regarded  as  so  great  an  evil  as 
to  overshadow  every  other  consideration,  is  it  really  an  unal- 
loyed evil;  may  there  be  no  countervailing  and  still  greater 
good  ?  Is  it  not  a  nobler  ambition  to  aim  at  individual  great- 
ness than  to  boast  of  some-  share  in  partnership  magnitude  ? 
The  South  by  the  severance  renders  itself  incomplete  as  a  com- 
munity. It  will  be  left  without  a  navy  or  marine,  with  few 
artisans,  little  science,  no  literature.  Were  the  North  moving 
away,  this  might  indeed  be  urged  as  a  grievance,  and  contested 


OENKRAL    CONCLUSIONS.  217 

as  the  excision  of  part  of  a  system  essential  to  the  well  being  of 
the  rest.  But  the  Northern  power  remains  in  t\ill  possession  of 
every  attribute  of  a  great  nation.  And  those  Americans  in  this 
country  who  though  remote  from  the  popular  current  yet  sym- 
pathize with  its  movement  —  may  do  well  to  recollect,  as  they 
shrink  from  this  narrowing  of  former  views  —  that  wlien  the 
British  empire  was  k^ssened  so  greatly  by  the  independence  of 
the  colonies  there  were  earnest  men  in  this  country  who  be- 
lieved and  mourned  that  .its  glory  had  departed  for  ever.  For 
the  dark  predictions  of  thit  period  tlierc  was  souie  excuse,  for 
they  were  uttereil  when  looking  into  the  gloom  of  an  unknown 
future.  Now,  who  does  not  know  that  the  darkness  of  that  era 
was  followed  by  a  dawn  that  has  widened  ever  since  —  not 
uncheckered  by  trani^ient  clouds — yet  evergrowing  clearer  and 
brighter  to  this  very  day  ? 

If  this  has  followed  a  similar  event  in  our  case  —  why  may  it 
not  also  with  the  North  ?  Had  we  succeeded  in  oi4r  effort, 
so  similar  to  their  own  —  had  we  subdued  and  retained  the 
colonies  for  ten,  twenty  years  more  —  none  can  believe  that  real 
advantage  would  have  accrued.  The  expense,  the  heart-burn- 
ings, the  distrust,  the  turmoil  inevitable  afterward,  would  have 
been  equally  disastrous  to  both.  In  every  sense  the  anticipated 
evil  has  j)roved  an  actual  good.  And  there  are  stronger  reasons 
to  foresee  the  same  result  in  the  present  instance.  The  colonies 
exercised  on  us  no  influence  for  evil  —  enforced  no  compromises 
of  principle  —  had  no  corrupting  effect  on  public  opinion.  But 
slavery — however  it  may  be  with  those  nurtured  to  quiescence — 
must  needs  act  poisonously  when  injected  into  the  veins  and 
incorporated  with  the  system  of  communities  that  are  free.  Can 
the  event  be  altogether  evil  that  removes  an  influence  such  as 
this  ? 

In  that  work  in  which,  under  the  surface  of  a  playful  fancy, 
such  true  wisdom  may  be  found,  Washington  Irving  wrote  thus: 
'•  Happy  is  that  nation  which,  compact,  united,  loyal  in  all  its 
parts  and  concentrated  in  its  strength,  seeks  no  idle  and  unprof- 
itable acquisition  of  ungovernable  territory  —  which,  content  to 
be  prosperous  and  happy,  has  no  ambition  to  be  great.  It  is  like 
a  man  well  organized  in  all  l«s  system,  sound  in  health,  and  full 


218  THE    AMEUICAN    UNION. 

of  vigor;  unencumbered  by  useless  trappings  and  fixed  in  an 
unshaken  attitude.'  But  the  nation,  insatiable  of  territory, 
whose  dominions  are  scattered,  feebly  united,  an^  weakly  or- 
ganized, is  like  a  senseless  miser  sprawling  among  golden  stores, 
open  to  every  attack,  and  unable  to  defend  tlie  riches  he  vainly 
endeavors  to  overshadow." 

There  is  something  in  this  that  carries  conviction  to  the 
reason.  The  time  has  arrived  when  the  North,  by  the  removal 
of  discordant  elements,  may  really  become  within  itself  this 
"  happy  nation — compact — united — loyal  in  all  its  parts  and  con- 
centrated in  its  strength."  The  very  condition  thus  pictured  for 
his  country's  good  by  the  ablest  of  her  writers  —  the  choicest 
spirit  of  her  sons — that  condition  is  now  withii^  her  reach.  And 
is  the  calamity  that  brings  it  really  to  be  deplored  when  it 
comes — it  may  be  rudely  in  its  form  —  yet,  if  we  may  use  the 
Tvords,  when  it  comes  "Avith  healing  on  its  wings?" 

Here  is  this  vast  Northern  territory  extending  from  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific  —  with  noble  harbors  on  either  coast,  linked 
by  a  chai  n  of  inland  oceans  —  with  a  climate  that  sustains  the 
energy  of  man  —  a  soil  fruitful  in  grain  —  beneath  it,  mineral 
stores  of  future  riches  beyond  our  calculation.  Yet  over  this 
there  was  a  danger  ever  impending  —  a  dark,  sullen  cloud  hung 
lowering  always.  Slavery  was  there  to  clash  with  emotions  of 
honest  pride  —  millions  of  slaves  in  the  nation  to  baffle  the  thirst 
for  nationality  —  the  very  name  of  Union  had  something  hollow 
ittits  sound ;  slavery  was  disunion,  discordance  at  its  core. 
-  And  what  is  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  this  people  ?  All 
these  elements  remain  —  they  wait  to  be  developed.  All  those 
mines  of  coal,  of  iron,  of  copper,  of  gold — mills,  and  looms,  and 
forges — ships  cleaving  the  waters  of  remotest  seas  —  men  vigor- 
ous, inventive,  indomitable,  alert  to  mould  or  master  every 
change  of  fortune  —  all  those  remain.  And  slavery  is  gone. 
That  old,  dark  cloud  has  passed  away.  Now,  through  this  wide 
dominion  —  a  seventh  of  the  globe's  circumference  —  all  may 
assert  with  truth  their  claim  to  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness."  At  last,  it  is  possible  to  be  a  nation — and  rising  out 
of  this  convulsion  with  manly  resolve,  to  achieve  that  true  great- 
ness of  worth  and  deeds  till  now  so  poorly  represented  by  the 
empty  boast  of  magnitude. 


GhNERAL    CONCLUSIONS.  219 

We  conilucle  that  the  Federal  tompact  has  ceased  to  benefit 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  is  wholly  incapable  of 
being  restored.  We  have  seen  that  those  Southern  states  which 
were  parties  to  it  entered  it  of  their  free  will  as  sovereign,  in- 
dependent powers,  and  possess  now  the  right  to  withdraw  from 
it  by  passing  an  ordinance  of  convention.  Upon  tlie  states 
since  admitted,  and  void  of  this  inherent  right,  all  the  powers 
of  the  rest  have  been  conferred.  In  this  view  the  Southern 
states  have  merely  exercised  a  just  constitutional  right.  Nor 
can  we  fail  to  consider  that  their  course  in  its  nature  is  one 
prompted  and  sanctioned  hy  every  tradition  reverenced,  or  po- 
litical principle  hitherto  professed  in  America.  Hence  the 
attempt  to  subdue  them  we  holil  to  be  not  only  hopeless  of  ac- 
complishment—  incapable,  were  it  effected,  of  attaining  the 
objects  professed  —  but  also  based  on  a  denial  of  just  political 
rights.  It  appears  to  us  simply  the  attempt  of  a  majority,  in 
virtue  of  ils  power,  to  exercise  its  despotic  will. 

And,  further,  it  appears,  from  the  authorities  and  evidence 
examined,  that  the  present  form  of  government  in  the  United 
States  is  essentially  wanting  in  the  elements  of  durability — that 
although  powerful  when  expressing  the  passions  of  the  people,  it 
is  powerless  when  attempting  to  control  them.  We  see  that 
with  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  were  it  a  possibility,  would 
be  restored,  and  with  aggravated  force,  those  elements  which 
have  caused  the  degeneracy  apparent  to  all  observers.  In 
Washington's  farewell  address  are  these  words :  "  Observe 
good  faith  and  justice  to  all  nations,  cultivate  peace  and  har- 
mony with  all.  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and 
at  no  distant  period  a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the 
too  novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted 
justice  and  benevolence."  This  advice  has  not  been  followed. 
The  example  the  United  States  have  really  given  to  mankind 
is  so  directly  opposed  to  it  that  any  well  wisher  of  the  Amer- 
ican people  may  welcome  for  their  sakcs  an  event  that  may 
change  the  direction  of  their  course,  and  lead  them  to  remember 
the  words  of  their  patriot  hero,  as  those  of  a  guide  to  follow — 
not  to  spurn. 

Whoever  desires  to  flatter  mav  chime  in  with  the  humor  of 


220  THE    AMERICAN    UNION. 

the  hour— but  sincerely  desiring  their  true  greatness,  we  express 
earnestly  the  clear  conviction  that  nothing  is  so  essential  to  the 
well  being  of  the  American  people  as  a  termination  of  the 
American  Union. 


NOTE. 

We  append  to  tbis  edition  the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federation, which  differs  from  that  of  the  Union  mainly  in  the  following 
points.  The  Southern  Constitution  absolutely  prohibits  the  over-sea 
slave  trade;  that  of  the  Union  does  not.  It  permits  cabinet  ministers 
to  take  part  in.  the  discussions  of  Congress.  It  prohibits  bounties  or 
duties  to  foster  anybrahch  of  industry.  After,  a  specified  time  the 
post-office  must  cover  its  own  expenses.  No  extra  compensation  to  be 
paid  to  any  contractor.  Log-rolling  ia  prohibited.  The  President  is 
to  hold  office  for  six  years,  and  is  not  to  be  re-eligible.  The  subordinate 
government  officers  not  to  be  removed  by  the  President  without  a  report 
to  the  Senate  giving  his  reasons. 

It  will  be  obsesrved  that  these  alterations  remove  several  of  the  gross- 
est evils  described  as  resulting  from  the  institutions  of  the  Union.  The 
special  clauses  referring  to  the  po^t-office  and  to  contractors  are  intended 
to  remove  notorious  sources  of  corruption  heretofore  in  active  opera- 
tion. It  may  be  observed  that  the  right  of  property  in  slaves,  and 
that  of  taking  them  into  any  territory,  are  expressly  stated,  but  that 
no  new  principle  is  adopted  or  laid  down  which  does  not  already  exist, 
on  this  head,  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Union. 


APPEN^DIX. 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

In  Co»(/ress,  Juhj  4,  17  7(!. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands,  which  have  con- 
nected them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers  of 
the  earth,  the  separate  and  ecjual  station  to  which  the  laws  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  (iod  (>ntitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  shoidd  declare  the  causes 
which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are 
created  equal;  that  they^are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  unalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  to  secure  these  rights,  gov- 
ernments arc  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed ;  that  whenever  any  form  of 
government  becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of 
the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  gov- 
ernment, laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing 
its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect 
their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that 
governments  long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light 
and  transient  causes;  and,  accordingly,  all  otperience  hath 
shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are 
i^ufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to 
which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses 
and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a 
design  to  reduce  tht-m  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right, 
it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  oft"  such  government,  and  to  provide 


~~1  APPENDIX. 

new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  fias  been  the  patient 
sufferance  of  these  cdlouies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which 
constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government. 
The  history  of  the  present  King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of 
repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the 
establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To 
prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world : 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and 
necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and 
pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his 
assent  sliould  be  obtained ;  and  when,  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly 
neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of 
large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the 
right  of  representation  in  the  legislature ;  a  right  inestimable 
to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyi-ants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual, 
uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public 
records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance 
with  his  measures.  * 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  oppos- 
ing, with  manly  firmness,  his  invasion^  on  the  rights  of  the 
people. 

He  has  refused  for  a  long  time,  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause 
others  to  be  elected;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable 
of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  peojile  at  large  for  their 
exercise;  the  state  remaining,  in  the  mean  time,  exposed  to  all 
the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  states ; 
for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  tlieir  migrations 
hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing 
his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure 
of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither 


APrF.NDIX.  2'2S 

swarms  of  officers,  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  sub- 
stani-e. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies, 
without  the  consent  of  our  legisUitures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  su- 
perior to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction 
foreign  to  our  Constitution,  ami  unacknowledged  by  our  laws; 
giving  his  assent  to  tlieir  acts  of  pretended  legislation  : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us : 

For  protecting  tiiem,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any 
murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  iuliabitauts  of  tlicse 
states : 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  : 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent : 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  l)v 
Ju'T: 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
offences: 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighbor- 
ing province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and 
enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example 
and  fit  instrument  lor  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into 
these  colonies: 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable 
laws,  and  altering  fundamentally  the  forms  of  our  governments : 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  them- 
selves invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatso- 
ever.- 

He  has  abdicated  government  here  by  declaring  us  out  of  his 
protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mer- 
cenaries to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny, 
already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely 
paralleled,  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the 
head  of  a  civilized  nation. 


224  APrKNDix. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the 
high  seas,  to  hear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  ex- 
ecutioners of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by 
their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  among  us,  and  has 
endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  mer- 
ciless Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undis- 
tinguished destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for 
redress  in  the  most  humble  terms :  our  repeated  petitions  have 
been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  prince  whose  char- 
acter is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a  tyrant,  is 
unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  warning  in  attentions  to  our  British  breth- 
ren. We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by 
their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over 
us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emi- 
gration and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native 
justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  th» 
ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which 
would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence. 
They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consan- 
guinity. We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which 
denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of 
mankind,  enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  General  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Su- 
preme Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do, 
in  the  name,  and  by  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colo- 
nies, solemnly  publish  and  declare,  that  these  United  Colonies 
are,  and  of  right  out  to  be,  Fkee  and  Independent  States; 
that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown, 
and  that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of 
Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved:  and  that,  as 
free  and  independent  -states,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war, 
conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do 
all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  states  may  of  right 
do.     And  for  the  support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance 


APPENDIX. 


on  tlic  protection  of  Div 
each  other  our  lives,  our 


Neio  Hampshire .  . . 

Massach  usells  Bay . 
Rhode  Island,  etc.  . 
Connecticut 


New  York 


New  Jersey. 


Pennsylvania 


Delawn-'e . 


Maryland 


ine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to 
fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 

John  Hancock. 

(Josiah  Bartlett, 
.  -  William  Whipple, 

(]\Iatthcw  Thornton. 

f  Samuel  Adams, 
)  John  Adams. 

Robert  Tri'at  Paine, 

Klhridge  Gerry. 

f  Stephen  Hopkins, 
i  William  Ellery. 

r  Roger  Sherman, 
j  Samuid  Huntington, 
1  William  Williams, 
[  Oliver  Wolcott. 

r  William  Floyd, 
J  Philip  Livingston, 
I  Francis  Lewis, 
[^  Lewis  ^Morris. 

'  Richard  Stockton, 
John  Witherspoon, 
Francis  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart. 
Abraham  Clark. 

f  Robert  Morris, 
I  Benjamin  Rush. 

Benjamin  Franklin, 
I  John  Morton, 
■{  Gi'orge  Clymer, 

James  Smith, 

(icorge  Taylor, 

Janu's  Wilson, 
^  George  Ross. 

(  C:esar  Rodney, 
-   (Jeorge  Read, 
(  riiomas  ^NI'Kean. 

f  Samuel  Chase, 
j  William  Paca, 

Thomas  Sfone, 

Charles  Carroll,  of  CarroUton. 


226  APPENDIX. 

George  Wytlie, 
Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Thomas  Jefferson, 

Virfflnia -I  Benjamin  Harrison, 

Thomas  Nelson,  Jun  , 
I  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
1^  Carter  Braxton. 

(  William  Hooper, 

North  Carolina <  Joseph  Hewes. 

( John  Penn. 

f  Edward  Rutledge, 

c     n   /^      !■  Thomas  Hevward,  Jun. 

bouth  Carohna <  mi  t    '    i     t 

j   1  nomas  Lynch,  Jun., 

[  Arthur  Middleton. 

r  Button  Gwinnett, 

Georgia <  Lyman  Hall, 

(  George  Walton. 


AITr.NDTX. 


CONSTTTUTIOiV  OF  TITK  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Conitlilttllon  framed  for  the  United  States  of  America,  hy  a 
Convention  of  Dcputiea  from  the  States  of  A^ew  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  N^ew  York;  Neiv  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, D.elatoare,  Mary/and,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia,  at  a  Session  begun  May  25,  and  ended 
September  17,  1787. 

We,  the  people  of  tlie  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establisli  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity, 
provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity, 
do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States 
of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Section'  I. — All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shail  consist  of 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  II. — 1.  Tiic  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  com- 
posed of  meml)ers  chosen  every  second  year,  by  the  jjcople  of  the 
several  states;  and  the  electors  in  each  state  shall  have  the 
qualifioations  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch 
of  the  state  legislature. 

2.  No  i)erson  shall -be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be, 
an  inhabitant  of  that  state  in  which  he  .shall  he  chosen. 

3.  Rejiresentatives  and  direct  ta.\es  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within  this 


228  APPENDIX. 

Union,  according  to  tlieir  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be 
determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  "persons, 
including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  exclud- 
ing Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The 
actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States ;  and  within 
every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they 
shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  Ijot 
exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand ;  but  each  state  shall  have 
at  least  one  representative;  and,  until  such  enumeration  shall 
be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hainpshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
three;  Massachusetts,  eight;  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan- 
tations, one  ;  Connecticut,  five;  New  York,  six;  New  Jersey, 
four;  PennsylvaYiia,  eight ;  Delaware,  one  ;  Maryland,  six ;  Vir- 
ginia, ten;  North  Carolina,  five;  South  (Carolina,  five;  and 
Georgia,  three. 

4.  ^Vllen  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
state,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election 
to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker 
and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III. — 1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
composed  of  two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by  the  legis- 
lature thereof,  for  six  years;  and  each  senator  shall  have  one 
vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  consequence 
of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided,  as  equally  as  may  be, 
into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class 
•shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year ;  of  the 
second  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year ;  and  of  the 
third  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year ;  so  that  one-third 
may  be  cho'sen  every  second  year.  And  if  vacancies  happen,  by 
resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of 
any  state,  the  Executive  (hereof  may  make  temporary  appoint- 
ments until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then 
fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 


APPENDIX.  229 

the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant 
of  that  state  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be  ecjually 
divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  oflici-rs.  and  also  a 
President  pro  tempore  in  tlie  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or 
when  he  shall  exercise  the  otlice  of  President  of  the  United 
States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  jiowcr  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. When  sitting  for  that  jiurpose,  tlH>y  shall  be  on  oath  or 
afhrniation.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried, 
the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment,  in  cases  of  impeacdnnent,  shall  not  extend  fur- 
ther than  to  removal  from  ollice,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  j^rofit,  under  tlie  United 
■States.     But  the  party  convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable 

and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  ac- 
cording to  law. 

Section  IV. — 1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding 
elections  for  senators  and  representatives  shall  be  prescribed 
in  each  state  by  the  legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may, 
at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to 
the  places  of  choosing  senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year; 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
unless  they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  V. — 1.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elec- 
tions, returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members ;  and  a 
majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a 
smaller  numlier  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  -be 
authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Ea(  h   House  may  determine   the   rules  of  its  proceedings ; 


230  APPENDIX. 

punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior;  and,  with  the  con- 
currence of  twC-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may 
in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the 
members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of 
one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

Skction  VI. — 1.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  re- 
■  ceive  a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law, 
and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall, 
in  all  cases  .except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be 
privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of 
their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same;  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  nofc 
be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  ajjppinted  to  any  civil  office,  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created, 
or  the  emoluments  whei-eof  shall  have  been  increased,  during 
such  time,  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  continuance 
in  office. 

Section  VH. — I.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate 
in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose 
or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the. House  of  Represent- 
atives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  If  he  approve  it, 
he  shall  sign  it;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections, 
to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter 
the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  recon- 
sider it.     If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House 


Al'l'KNDIX.  231 

sliall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the 
objeetions,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  re- 
considered ;  and,  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  House,  it 
shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both 
Houses  shall  be  detei-mined  by  yeas  and  nays;  and  the  names  ot 
the  persons  voting  for  and  against  tKe  bill  shall  be  entered  on 
the  journal  ot  each  House  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be 
returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (^Sundays  excepted) 
atler  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a 
law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress, 
by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return;  in  which  case  it  shall 
not  be  a  law. 

8.  Ever}'  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and,  before  the  same  shall 
take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by 
him  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed 
in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section"  VHI. — The  Congress  .shall  have  power, 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  to  pay 
the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  wel- 
fare of  the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts,'  and  excises 
shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States: 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States : 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes: 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United 
States : 

5.  To  coin  mon^y,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  : 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  secu- 
rities and  current  coin  of  the  United  States : 

7.  To  establish  post-ofliccs  and  post-roads  : 

8.  To  promote  the  progre.ss  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  se- 


LijZ  APPENDIX.  V 

curinjr,  for  limited  tim«s,  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive 
right  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries  : 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  'Supreme  court  : 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on 
the  high  seas,  and  otFenees  against  the  law  of  nations : 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  : 

1 2.  To  raise  and  support  armies ;  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  for  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years  : 

1 3.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  : 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  i;he 
land  and  naval  forces : 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions : 

IG.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  i*eservirig  to  the  states  re- 
spectively the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of 
training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by 
Congress.: 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsover, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may  by 
cession  of  particular  states,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  be- 
come the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States ;  and  to 
exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent 
of  the  legislature  of  the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other 
needful  buildings :  and, 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other 
powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  or  In  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section  IX. — 1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  per- 
sons as  any  of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to 
admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight ;  but  a  tax  or  duty  may 
be  imposed  on  sucli  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for 
each  person. 


APPENDIX.  233 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  sliall  not  be 
suspended,  unless  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the 
publi^'  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in 
proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to 
be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
state. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  state  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear, 
or  pay  duties  in  another. 

-  7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regular  statement 
and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money 
shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present, 
emolument,  oflice,  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king, 
prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Section  X. — 1.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alli- 
ance, or  confederation ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ; 
coin  monej'",  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  anything  but  gold  and 
silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attain- 
der, ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts; or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

"2.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws;  and  the 
net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts  laid  by  any  state  on  im- 
ports or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and 
control  of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty*f  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace, 
20 


234  APPENDIX. 

enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  state,  or  with 
a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in 
such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 

Section  I. — 1.  The  Executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his 
office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice- 
President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the  state  may 
be  entitled  in  the  Congress;  but  no  senator  or  representative,  or 
person  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

^  3.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an 
inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves.  And  they  shall 
make  a  Hst  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  trans- 
mit sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall 
be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one 
who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes, 
then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately  choose  ])y 
ballot  one  of  them  for  President;  and  if  no  person  have  a  major- 
ity, then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  House  shall  in 
like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  Presi- 
dent, the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from 
each  state  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall 
consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
In  every  case,  after  tl«i  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  Imving 


APPENDIX.  235 

the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice- 
President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have 
equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the 
Vice-President. 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors,  and-the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes;  which 
day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

5.  No  person,  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  ait  the  time- of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitu- 
tion, shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither  shall  any 
person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident 
within  the  United  States. 

6.-  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President ; 
and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal, 
death,  resignation,  or  inability,  botli  of  the  President  and  A'^ice- 
President,  declaring  what  oificer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and 
such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed 
or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  sliall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
during  the  period  for  wiiich  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he 
shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from 
the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation — 

"  I  do  soleinnlj-  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States;  and  will,  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States." 

Section  II. — 1.  The  President  Khali  be  Connnander-in-Chief 
of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of 
the  several  states  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States;  he  may  re(juire  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the 
principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any 


23G  APPENDIX. 

subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he 
shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences 
against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  sena- 
tors present  consent;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors, 
other  public  ministers,  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  court, 
and  all  other  officei's  of  the  United  States  whose  appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  estab- 
lished by  law  ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appoint- 
ment of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper  in  the  President  • 
alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  comr 
missions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III. — He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Con- 
gress information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to 
their  consideration  such  measures  a^s  he  shall  judge  necessary 
and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene 
both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and,  in  case  of  disagreement 
between  them  with  respe(;t  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may 
adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall 
receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers;  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission 
all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV. — The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil 
officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on 
impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery,  or  other 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  HI. 

Sectiox  I. — The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall 
be  vested  in  one  Supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as 
the  Congress  may,  from  time  to  time,  ordain  and  establish.  The 
judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  Inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their 
offices  during  good  behavioi",  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive 


APPENDIX.       •  287 

for  their  services  a  compensation  wliiili  shall  not  be  diminished 
during  their  continuance  in  ofTue. 

Skction  II. — 1.  The  Judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases 
in  law  and  equity  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public 
ministers,  and  consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime 
jurisdiction;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be 
a  party  ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  states ;  between 
a  state  and  citizens  of  another  state ;  between  citizens  of  different 
states;  between  citizens  of  the  same  state  claiming  lands  under 
grants  of  different  'States;  and  between  a  state,  or  the  citizens 
thereof  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers, 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a  party,  the 
Supreme  court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  court  shall  have  appellate 
jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  su«h  exceptions,  and 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 
shall  be  Vy  jury,  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state  where 
the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  com- 
mitted within  any  state,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places 
as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  III. — ^^1.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall 
consist  only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be 
conviited  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to 
the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment 
of  treason  ;  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of 
blood  or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 
Section   1. — Full  faith  and  credit  shall   be  given,  in  each 
8tat«,  to  the   public   acts,  records,  and  judicial   proceedings  of 
every  other  state.     And  the  Congress  may,  by  general  laws, 


238  APPENDIX. 

prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceed- 
ings shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II. — 1.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  entitled 
to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  states. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice  and  be  found  in  another  state^ 
shall,  on  demand  of  the  Executive  authority  of  the  state  from 
which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  state  having 
jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person,  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any 
law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or 
labor ;  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III. — 1.  New  states  maybe  admitted  by  the  Con- 
gress into  this  Union ;  but  no  new  state  shall  be  formed  or 
erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state ;  nor  any  state 
be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states,  or  parts  of 
states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  states 
concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this 
Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of 
the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  state. 

Section  IV. — The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 
state  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall 
protect  each  of  them  against  invasion  ,  and  on  application  of  the 
legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  legislature  cannot 
be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  botk  Houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or 
on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several 
states,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments;  which, 


APPENDIX.  239 

in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part 
of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  several  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be 
proposed  by  the  Congress :  Provided  that  no  amendment  which 
may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight,  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in 
the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  state,  without 
its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

1.  All  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into  before 
the  adoi)tion  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United    States   under  this   Constitution   as  under  the   Confed- 

^eration. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
•which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  the  judges  in  every 
state  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  constitution  or 
laws  of  any  state  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all  Executive 
and  Judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
states,  shall  be  bound,  by  oath  or  affirmation,  to  support  this 
Constitution;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  to  any  ollice  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  YIL 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  states  shall  be 
sufficient  for  t^e  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
states  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  states 
present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  Sei)teniber,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of 
the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  twelflh. 
In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 
George  Washington,  Presulent, 

and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


240 


APPKNDIX. 


T,r       rr         i-  ( Joliii  LanffdoD, 

New  Hampshire .  .  •  •  i  -vt-     i      /-i-i 

'  (  Nicolas  Gilman.  « 

T ,  J       ,,  f  Nathaniel  Gorham, 

Alassachusetts -{-or     r^- 

I  Kuius  ivmg. 

^  ,.     ,  ( William  Samuel  Johnson, 

(  Koger  Sherman. 

New  York  .  . . ^  Alexander  Hamilton. 

r  William  Livingston, 
]\T       T  J  David  Brearley, 

'' I  William  Paterson, 

l^  Jonathan  Dayton. 


Pennsylvania 


Delaware. 


Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 


Georgia.  . . ... 

Attest : 


Benjamin  Franklin, 
Thomas  Mifflin, 
Robert  Morris, 
George  Clymer, 
Thomas  Fitzsimmons, 
Jared  Ingersol, 
James  Wilson, 
Gouverneur  Morris. 

George  Read, 
Gunning  Bedford,  Jun., 
■{  John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett, 
Jacob  Broom. 

James  M'Henry, 

Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer, 

Daniel  Carroll. 

(  John  Blair, 

I  James  Madison,  Jun. 

(  William  Blount, 

J  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 

(Hugh  Williamson. 

r  John  Rutledge, 
J  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
j  Charles  Pinckney, 
1^  Pierce  Butler. 

(  William  Few, 

I  Abraham  Baldwin. 

William  Jacksox,  Secretary. 


APPENDIX.  241 


AMENDMENTS. 

The  following  Articles,  in  addilion  to  and  amendment  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  hnvincj  been  ratified  hif  the 
legislatures  of  nine  states,  are  equally  obliga'unj  with  the  Con- 
stitution itself. 

I.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof,  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  tiie  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a 
redress  of  grievances. 

II.  A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of 
a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall 
not  be  infringed. 

in.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any 
house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner ;  nor  in  time  of  war, 
but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

IV.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  f secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and 
seizures,  shall  not  be  violated ;  and  no  warrants  shall  issue,  but 
upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmatioi},  and 
particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched  and  the  persons 
or  things  to  be  seized. 

V.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  other- 
wise infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or 
in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service,  i«  time  of  war,  or  public 
danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject,  for  the  same  offence,  to 

21 


242  APl'ENDIX. 

be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled, 
in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  witness  against  himself;  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ; 
nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just 
compensation. 

VI.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury,  of  the 
state  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed; 
which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  bylaw; 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ; 
to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compul- 
sory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor ;  and  to  have 
the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

VII.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  th^  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be 
preserved  ;  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-ex- 
amined in  any  court  of  the  United  States  than  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  common  law. 

VIII.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required;  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed  ;  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

IX.  The  enum.eration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by 
the  people.  -j 

X.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to 
the  states  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

XL  The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be 
construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity  commenced  or 
prosecuted  .against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of 
another  state,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  state. 

XII.    §  1.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states, 


APPENDIX.  243 

and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vire-President,  one  of 
■whom,  cat  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with 
themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for 
as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President;  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted 
for  a-s  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  list  they  shall  sign 
and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate ;  the  President 
of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Kepresentatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted  ;  tlie  person  liaving  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person 
have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest 
numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for*  as 
President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  imme- 
diately, by  ballot,  the  President.  But,  in  choosing  the  President, 
the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each 
state  having  one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of 
a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  when- 
ever the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the 
fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President 
shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other 
constitutional  disability  of  the  President. 

§  2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers^)n  the  list 
the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum  for  the 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  sena- 
tors, and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice. 

§  3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of -Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 


244  APPENDIX. 

XIII.  (Passed  3d  March,  18G1.)  That  no  amendment  shall  be 
made  to  the  Constitution,  which  will  authorize  or  give  Congress 
power  to  abolish  or  interfere  within  any  state  with  the  domestic 
institutions  thereof,  including  that  of  persons  held  to  labor  or 
servitude  by  the  laws  of  said  state. 


ATTENDTX.  245 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 


PREAMBLE. 

We,  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States,  each  state  acting 
in  its  sovereign  and  independent  character,  in  order  to  form  a 
permanent  Federal  government,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranciuillity,  and  secure  tlie  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and 
our  posterity  —  invoking  the  favor  and  guidance  of  Almighty 
God  —  do  ordain  and  establish  this  ConstitutionTor  the  Confed- 
erate States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  L 
Skctiox  I. — All  legislative  powers  herein  delegated  shall  be 
vested  in   a   Congress  of  the   Confederated  States,  which    shall 
consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Skction  II. — 1.  The  riouse  of  Representatives  shall  be 
composed  of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of 
the  several  states;  and  the  electors  in  each  state  slhall  be  citizens 
of  the  Confederate  States,  and  have  the  qualifications  recjuisite 
for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  tjie  state  legislature  ; 
but  no  person  of  foreign  birth,  and  not  a  citizen  of  the  Confed- 
erate States,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  any  officer,  civil  or 
political,  state  or  federal. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the 
Confederate  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
inhabitant  of  that  state  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  ta.xes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within  this 
ConfctIera<'y  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall 


246  APPENDIX. 

be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons, 
including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  exclud- 
ing Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  slaves.  The  actual 
enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they 
shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not 
exceed  one  for  every  fifty  thousand,  but  each  state  shall  have  at 
least  one  representative ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be 
made,  the  State  of  South  Carolina  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
six,  the  State  of  Georgia  ten,  tlie  State  of  Alabama  nine,  the 
State  of  Florida  two,  the  State  of  Mississippi  seven,  the  State  of 
Louisiana  six,  and  the  State  of  Texas  six. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
state,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election 
to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker 
and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeach- 
ment, except  that  any  judicial  or  other  federal  officer  resident 
and  acting  solely  within  the  limits  of  any  state,  may  be  im- 
peached by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of , both  branches  of  the  legis- 
lature thereof. 

Section  III.  —  1.  The  Senate  of  the  Confederate  States 
shall  be  composed  of  two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  for 
six  years  by  the  legislature  thereof,  at  the  regular  session  next 
immediately  preceding  the  commencement  of  the  term  "of  service, 
and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  consequence 
of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be 
into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class 
shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  .the 
second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the 
third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third 
may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by 
resignation  or  otherwise  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of 
any  state,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appoint- 
ments until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall 
then  fill  such  vacancies. 


APPKNOIX.  247 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate 
States,  and  who  shall  not  when  elected  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
state  for  which  he  shall  he  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be 
equallj^  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
President  pro  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or 
when  he  shall  exercise  the  o(Hce  of  President  of  the  Confederate 
States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or 
affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  is 
tried  the  CMiicf  Justii-e  sliall  pi-esidc,  and  no  person  shall  be  con- 
victed without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office  and  dis(pialifioation  to  hold  and  enjoy 
any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  nnd(^r  the  Confederate  States  ; 
but  tjje  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject 
to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  IV. — 1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holdmg 
elections  tor  senators  and  representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in 
each  state  by  the  legislature  thereof,  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
this  Constitution ;  but  the  Congress  may,  at  any  time,  by  law, 
make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  times  and  plaices 
of  choosing  senators. 

2.  Tlie  Congi-ess  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year; 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
unless  they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a  different  day. 

Skctiox  V. — I.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elec- 
tions, returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a 
majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a 
smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,   and   may   be 


248  APPENDIX. 

authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,' with  the  con- 
currence of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number,  expel  a  member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  pi'occedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  tlie  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may 
in  their  judgment  require  secrecy,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the 
members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of 
one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  ^he  session  of  Congress,  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

Section  VI. — 1.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall 
receive  a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by 
law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Confederate  States. 
They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason  and  breach  o£  the  p(;ace, 
be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session 
of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  same,  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House  they 
shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the 
authority  of  the  Confederate  States  which  shall  have  been 
created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased 
during  such  time ;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the 
Confederate  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during 
his  continuance  in  office.  But  Congress  may,  by  law,  grant  to 
the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments  a  seat 
upon  the  floor  of  either  House,  with  the  privilege  of  discussing 
any  measures  appertaining  to  his  department. 

Section  YH. — 1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate 
in  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose 
or  concur  with  amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  Houses  shall,  before 


APPENDIX.  249 

it  becomes  a  law,  bo  presente  1  to  the  President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States.  If  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it;  bnt  if  not,  he  shall 
return  it,  with  his  objeitions,  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  • 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their 
journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  reconsider- 
ation, two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it 
shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House, 
by  whom  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by 
two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such 
cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the 
bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively. 
If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten 
days  (Sundays  exfcpted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to 
him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed 
it,  unless  the  Congress,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return, 
in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law.  The  President  may  approve 
any  appropriation  and  disapprove  any  other  appropriation  in  the 
same  bill.  In  such  case  he  shall,  in  signing  the  bill,  designate 
the  appropriations  disapproved,  and  shall  return  a  copy  of  such 
appropriations,  with  his  objections,  to  the  House  in  which  the 
bill  shall  have  originated ;  and  the  same  proceedings  shall  then 
be  had  as  in  case  of  other  bills  disapproved  by  the  President. 

3.  Every  order,  res-olution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  both  Houses  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of 
adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  Con- 
federate States;  and,  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be 
approved  by  him;  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  may  be  repassed 
by  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  according  to  the  rules  and  linuta- 
tions  prescribed  in  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  YIH. — The  Congress  shall  have  power — 
1.  To  lay  and  eollect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  for 
revenue  necessary  to  pay  the  debts,  provide  fdr  the  common 
defence^  and  earry  on  the  government  of  the  Confederate 
States;  but  no  bounties  shall  be  granted  from  the  treasury,  nor 
shall  any  «luties  or  taxes  on  importations  from  foreign  nations  be 
lai«l  to  promote  or  foster  any  branch  of  industry ;  and  all  duties, 


250  ^  APPENDIX. 

imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  Confederate 
States. 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  Confederate  States. 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ;  but  neither  this,  nor 
any  other  clause  contained  in  the  Constitution,  shall  ever  be 
construed  to  delegate  the  power  to  Congress  to  appropriate 
money  for  any  internal  improvement  intended  to  facilitate  com- 
merce ;  except  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  lights,  beacons,  and 
buoys,  and  other  aids  to  navigation  upon  the  coasts,  and  the 
improvement  of  harbors,  and  the  removing  of  obstructions  in 
river  navigation,  in  all  which  cases  such  duties  shall  be  laid  on 
the  navigation  facilitated  thereby,  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay 
the  costs  and  expenses  thereof. 

4.  To  establisli  uniform  laws  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  sul)ject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout  the  Confederate 
States;  but  no  law  of  Congress  shall  discharge  any  debt  con- 
tracted before  the  passage  of  the  same. 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures. 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securi- 
ties and  current  coin  of  the  Confederate  States., 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-routes ;  but  the  expenses 
of  the  Post-office  department,  after  the  first  day  of  March,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  shall  be 
paid  out  of  its  own  revenues. 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  se- 
curing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive 
riglit  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries. 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  Inferior  to  the  Supreme  court. 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on 
the  high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations. 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water. 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years. 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy. 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces. 


ArrENDix.  2.11 

15.  To  provide  for  <'alling  fortli  the  militia  to  cxocute  the  laws 
of  the  Contl'derate  States,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel^  in- 
vasions. 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed 
in  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States;  reserving  to  the  states, 
respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers  and  the  authority 
of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by 
Congress. 

17.  To  exercise  e.xclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by 
cession  of  one  or  more  states  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress, 
become  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Confederate  States;  and 
to  e.xcrcise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  legislature  of  the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be, 
for  the  erection  of  torts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and 
other  needful  buildings;  and 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  pow- 
ers vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  Confed- 
erate States,  or  in  any  department  or  olHcer  thereof 

Sectiox  JX. — 1.  The  importation  of  negroes  of  the  African 
race  from  any  foreign  country  other  than  the  slave-holding  states 
or  territories  of  the  United  States  of  America  is  hereby  forbid- 
den ;  an<i  Congress  is  retjuired  to  pass  such  laws  as  shall  elfectu- 
ally  prevent  the  same. 

2.  Congress  shall  also  have  power  to  prohibit  the  introduction 
of  slaves  from  any  state  not  a  member  of,  or  territory  not  belong- 
ing to  this  Confederacy. 

3.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the 
j>ublic  safety  may  rctjuire  it. 

4.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex  post /ado  law,  or  law  denying  or 
impairing  the  right  of  property  in  negro  slaves,  shall  be  passed. 

5.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in 
proportion  to  the  census  of  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to 
be  taken. 


252  APPENDIX. 

6.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  he  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
state,  except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses. 

7.  No  j^reference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com- 
merce or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another- 

8.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement 
and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money 
shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

9.  Congress  shall  appropriate  no  money  from  the  treasury, 
except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses,  taken  by  ^eas 
and  nays,  unless  it  be  asked  and  estimated  for  by  some  one  of 
the  heads  of  department  and  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  Pres- 
ident ;  or  for  the  purpose  of  paying  its  own  expenses  and  con- 
tingencies; or  for  the  payment  of  claims  against  the  Confederate 
States,  the  just'ce  of  which  shall  have  been  judicially  declared 
by  a  tribunal  for  the  investigation  of  claims  against  the  govern- 
ment, which  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  Congress  to  establish. ' 

10.  All  bills  appropriating  money  shall  specify  in  Federal 
currency  the  exact  amount  of  each  appropriation  and  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  is  made;  and  Congress  shall  grant  no  extra 
compensation  to  any  public  contractor,  officer,  agent,  or  servant, 
after  such  contract  shall  have  been  made  or  such  services  ren- 
dered. 

11.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  Confederate 
States;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under 
them  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any 
preseiit,  emoluments,  office,  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever,  from 
any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

12.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  the  government  for  a  redress 
of  grievances. 

13.  A  well  regulated  niihtia  being  necessary  to  the  security 
of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms 
shall  not  be  infringed. 

14.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any 
bouse  without  the  consent  of  the  owner;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but 
in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 


APPENDIX.  253 

15.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and 
seizures,  shall  not  be  violated ;  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but 
upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  par- 
ticularly describing  the  place  to  be  searched  and  the  persons  or 
things  to  be  seized. 

16.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  caj)ital  or  other- 
wise infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces  or 
in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service,  in  time  of  war  or  public 
danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to 
be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb,  nor  be  compelled,  in  any 
criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  be  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall 
private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  witliout  just  compen- 
sation. 

17.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the 
state  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed, 
which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law, 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ; 
to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  com- 
pulsory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  haye 
the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

18.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be 
preserved;  and  no  fact  so  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise 
re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  Confederacy  than  according  to 
the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

19.  E.xcessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

20.  Every  law,  or  resolution  having  the  force  of  law,  shall 
relate  to  but  one  subject,  and  that  shall  be  expres.?ed  in  the  title. 

Section  X. —  1.  ^  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance, 
or  confederation ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin 
money;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  pay- 
meat  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex  post  fuclo  law,  or 


25-t  "  APPENDIX. 

law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts ;  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

2.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay 
any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws ;  and  the 
net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  state  on 
imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the 
Confederate  States ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
revision  and  control  of  Congress.  • 

3.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  except  on*  sea-going  vessels,  for  the  improve- 
ment of  its  rivers  and  harbors  navigated  by  the  said  vessels ;  but 
such  duties  shall  not  conflict  with  any  treaties  of  the  Confederate 
States  with  foreign  nations ;  and  any  surplus  of  revenue  thus 
derived  shall,  after  making  such  improvement,  be  paid  into  the 
common  treasury ;  nor  shall  any  state  keep  troops  or  ships  of 
war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with 
another  state  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit 
of  delay.  But  when  any  river  divides  or  flows  through  two  or 
more  states,  they  may  enter  into  compacts  with  each  other  to 
improve  the  navigation  thereof. 

ARTICLE  II. 

Section  I.  —  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
President  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America.  He  and  the 
Vice-President  shall  hold  their  offices  for  the  term  of  six  years ; 
but  the  President  shall  not  be  re-eligible.  The  President  and 
Vice-President  shall  be  elected  as  follows: 

2.  Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the  state  may 
be  entitled  in  the  Congress ;  but  no  senator  or  representative,  or 
person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  Confederate 
States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

3.  ^grhe  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote 
by  baHot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at 
least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  them- 


APPENDIX.  255 

selves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted 
for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  list  they  shall  sign, 
and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to  the  gpvernment  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate;  the 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes 
shall  then  be  counted ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  ibr  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be 
a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no 
person  have  such  majority,  then,  from  the  persons  heaving  the 
highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted 
for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose 
immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the 
President  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation 
from  each  state  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall 
consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  Presi- 
dent, whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them, 
before  the  4th  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice- 
President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  death  or  other 
constitutional  disability  of  the  President. 

4.  The  person  having  the  greatest  rt umber  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a 
majoi  ity  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no 
person  have  a  majority,  then,  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on 
the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  highest  Vice-President.  A 
quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

5.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  Con- 
federate States. 

6.'  The    Congress   may   determine   the    time  of  choosing  the 


256  AIPKNDIX. 

electors  and  the  day  on  wliich  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which 
day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  Confederate  States. 

7.  No  person,  exce-pt  a  natural  born  citizen  of  the  Confeder- 
ate States,  or  a  citizen  thereof  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution,  or  a  citizen  thereo'",  born  in  the  United  States 
prior  to  the  20th  of  December,  1860,  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
office  of  President;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that 
office  who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  years, 
and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  limits  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  as  they  may  exist  at  the  time  of  his  election. 

8.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of 
his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice- 
President  ;  and  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  provide  for  the  case 
of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice-Pi'esident,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as 
President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  dis- 
ability be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

9.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected;  and  he 
shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from 
the  Confederate  States,  or  any  of  them. 

10.  Before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office  he  shall 
take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation — 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirmj  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  will,  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Consti- 
tution thereof" 

Section  II. — 1.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  of  the 
militia  of  the  several  states  when  called  into  the  actual  service 
of  the  Confederate  States.  He  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices;  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons 
for  offences  against  the  Confederate  States,  except  in  cases  ot 
impeachment. 


APPENDIX.  257 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  wi*h  the  advice  and  consent 
of -the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  sena- 
tors present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors, 
other  public  ministers,  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  court, 
'and  all  other  officers  of  the  Confederate  States,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be 
established  by  law;  but  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  vest  the 
appointment  of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in 
the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of 
departments. 

3.  The  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments, 
and  all  persons  connected  v^ith  the  diplomatic  service,  may  be 
removed  from  office  at  the  pleasure  pf  the  President.  All  other 
civil  officers  of  the  executive  department  may  be  removed  at 
any,  time  by  the  President,  or -other  appointing  power,  when 
their  services  are  unnecessary,  or  for  dishonesty,  incapacity, 
inefficiency,  misconduct,  or  neglect  of  duty;  and  when  so  re- 
moved the  removal  shall  be  reported  to  the  Senate,  together 
with  the  reasons  therefor. 

4.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  that 
may  "happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  com- 
missions, which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session  ;  but 
no  person  rejected  by  the  Senate  shall  be  reappointed  to  the 
same  office  during  their  ensuing  recess. 

Section  III. — 1.  The  President  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give 
to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessarj-  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
"convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them ;  and,Tn  case  of  disagree- 
ment between  them  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he 
may  adjourn  thentto  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall 
receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers;  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission 
all  the  officers  of  the  Confederate  States." 

Skctiox  IV. — 1.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil 
22 


258  APPENDIX. 

officers  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  removed  from  office 
on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery,  or  other 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  m. 
Section  I. — 1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  Confederate  States 
shall  be  vested  ii{  one  superior  court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts 
as  the  Congress  may,  from  time  to  time,  ordain  and  establish. 
The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold 
their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times, 
receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be 
diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Skction  II. — 1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  Confederate 
States,  and  treaties  made  or  which  shall  be  made  under  their 
authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  min- 
isters, and  consuls  V  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  Confederate  States  shall 
be  a  jjarty  ;  to  controversies  between  tAvo  or  more  states  ;  be- 
tween a  state  and  citizens  of  another  state  where  the  state  is 
plaintiff;  between  citizens  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  differ- 
ent states,  and  between  a  state  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and 
foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects ;  but  no  state  shall  be  sued  by 
a  citizen  or  subject  of  any  foreign  state. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers, 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a  party,  the 
Supreme  court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
cases  before  mentioned  the  Supreme  court  shall  have  appellate 
jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions  and 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  Impeachment, 
shall  be  by  jury,  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state  where 
the  said  crime  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  com- 
•mitted  within  any  state,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places 
as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  III.  —  1.  Treason  against  the  Confederate  States 
shall  consist  only  in  levying  war  against  thorn,  or  in  adhering  to 


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